Escapee
by Adara Olson
Summary: Voldemort cheated death. So naturally, death's loyal son and lackey goes to handle it. But the golden trio is hot on his heels and they might soon uncover his secret. 'A suitable alias', his father says. Yeah right. The problem is, around here, aliases can get you killed. Kinda Sorta adopted from DarkAngelOfTruth. No Flames.
1. In Which Nico Becomes Himself

Chapter 1

In which Nico becomes himself

Nico's POV

"I have a mission for you, Nico."

I raised my head. "What is it, father?"

"A man… a son of mine. He has taken it into my head that he can escape death. It has been years. He should have died long ago… But now, he's turning out as bad, no, worse than Hitler. Any more evil sons of mine and my reputation will be unsalvageable. Things are going very badly for us."

I was getting a bit angry. Escape death? "Escape death, father? Flee from Thanatos and yourself? Impossible!"

Hades shook his head. "Difficult, but not impossible. He has used the darkest of magics to prevent me from taking the whole of his animus. The paperwork is becoming quite terrible. The man's name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, and he dares to call himself Lord Voldemort. You are the only one who can kill him. And you must. This is your last chance to prove yourself."

I nodded. "I will not fail, father. What must I do?"

He smiled proudly at me, which was quite a shock. "You must go to a school of magic. It is in England. You will learn there. Go to King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters. Go. First, however, you must make a wand. Now, Nico. Do not fail me."

I nodded. "I will succeed."

With that, I shadow traveled away.

You've got to be kidding me. He wants me to go defeat someone else? But I have no choice but to obey. If I succeed, perhaps he will spare me the scathing remark on how Bianca would have done so much better than me.

I asked: "I don't know how though…"

He chuckled. "A wand is not something that you learn to make. You can make your own wand using your essence. It will guide your hands on its own. Now, you have one day to journey wherever you please. Find a wood that feels a part of you and cut a piece that feels right in your hand. You have two hours to return."

I nodded stiffly. His tone left no room for argument. It was quite clear that I had to do it. I felt the shadow around me and shadow-traveled away. I stayed suspended in shadow for a minute, thinking. What kind of wood would fit me? I wasn't good with trees or bushes. Nymphs hated me. Let's not even get started on Persephone. Then it hit me. The only trees that grew in the underworld, in the fields of asphodel. Black Poplars. I traveled to the fields easily, drawing my blade to ward off the ghosts. They recoiled at the sight of the midnight-dark blade. I made my way to a tree, looking at the branches critically. I locked my eyes on one branch. It seemed to call me, almost glowing. I touched it longingly. It was ice cold, perfect. I purred and wasted no time in chopping it off. I shadow traveled back to Hades' throne room. He turned to me expectantly and I showed him the branch. He wrinkled his nose. "Interesting choice. A poplar from the fields of asphodel, no?"

I nodded and he handed me a strip of black fabric, so old and decrepit it looked like dark gray parchment. "What is this?" I asked carefully. He frowned.

"A strip of the robe of a Dementor."

The word _Dementor_ gave me the chills.

"What's a Dementor?" I asked.

He sighed. "You will have to discover this on your own, Nico. I cannot help you more. You must make your own wand. Take the robe and wood, and go create to your heart's desire."

I nodded and left. I remembered a lot about Arts-and-crafts back at Camp, although, granted, I had never attempted something like this before. I sighed and laid out my materials to begin. I took out the wood, the fabric, a piece of hard wire, and my dagger. I began by whittling at the branch to form it. Father was right. My hands guided themselves as I worked absentmindedly, making a perfectly conical form with a grip that fit beautifully inside my hand. I used my wire to dig out a hole in the center to place the core and took out the strip of Dementor robe. It entered the poplar branch of it's own accord, without me guiding it. My hands glowed slightly as I worked. At last, it was finished. A crooked black piece of wood, polished so well it looked like iron. It emanated death. I stood and looked over at my father.

"You are ready. And Nico, remember this; you must not suffer them to trust you, understand? You must not allow them to think that your intentions are pure. You may find it necessary to assume a suitable alias. They must not know about our world. And most importantly, you must not act the way you are. Choose somebody else."

I nodded and bowed, riffling through my personal aliases. In the end, I settled for the one I did best: Who I used to be, the boy who was jealous of his father's love for his sister, living in her shadow, the boy who would do anything, even kill, for his father's love. I chose to play the part of Nico DiAngelo, son of Hades. Was there a more fitting role?


	2. In Which a Shadow Dissapears

Chapter 2

In which a shadow disappears

(A/N I will be switching POV's often in this story, sorry for the inconvenience. These switches will be marked. Also, _Italics _would indicate thinking, and _Underlined Italics_ would indicate speaking in ancient Greek.)

Harry Potter's POV

My day was going great until my shadow disappeared. I mean, it flew away. I was on platform Nine and ¾, happy about my sixth year, when it just flitted away. Hermione's was the next to go. I noticed nearly all the shadows in our general vicinity moving to a darkened corner. We were the only ones to notice, but it didn't stop us from pulling out our wands. We pointed it at the corner. The shadows began to shape, forming a humanoid form. My scar began to sting, then burn. I forced myself to ignore it. This couldn't be Voldemort, could it? I held my wand firmer. The shadows dissipated, returning to their original owners, for which I was grateful. A person had appeared where the shadows had been. He wasn't Voldemort, which was good, but he stared straight at me and my scar burned. I gritted my teeth and said nothing.

The boy was dressed all in black. Black jeans with a chain for a belt, a black shirt, and a battered aviator jacket. The shirt had suspicious rusty-looking stains. Blood? He had an olive complexion, but his skin was deathly pale and his hair was dark and rather long. His eyes were the most shocking. They were pitch black, bottomless and full of pain, fear, anger, grief, and death. So much death. But they were also jaded, like he'd seen horrors in his life that would give even me nightmares.

Ron was the first to speak. "How did you do that, mate?"

Nico shrugged. "Trade secret. I can't tell you."

He sat down with his back to a pillar and took a switchblade from his pocket to polish it with his jacket. The motion was casual, but it sent a clear message: Mess with me and you will die. Obviously, I was the only one to get the hint.

Hermione said: "Who are you?"

The boy cocked his head and shrugged before getting up, putting away his blade, and holding out his hand to be shaken. "I'm Nico. Nico DiAngelo."

He shook all our hands and eventually, Hermione asked: "How old are you? We've never seen you before, but you're too old to be a first year."

He shrugged. "What kind of age do you mean?"

We all frowned. Ron said: "Ummm… your age…?"

He sighed. "I'm fourteen. May I ask you the same?"

We were all sixteen. He smiled a bit and nodded. Every time he looked at me, he frowned confusedly and my scar would burn. Actually, he didn't actually smile when he nodded. He had that sort of knowing smirk that people get when they know something you don't.

Eventually, Hermione asked (Again): "Wait, we've never seen you before. You're not a first year, so… where are you from?"

He sighed disinterestedly. "I'm an exchange student from America, but my school… let's say that the students didn't want me there and leave it at that."

He traced a scar on his cheek as though he were remembering something. I knew kids were cruel, but that they would give him scars? I noticed that his particularly long clothes seemed to be there not for warmth, but to show the least amount of skin possible. I looked at his collarbone. He had a web of scars there. What could possibly have cut him that badly? Suddenly a voice over our shoulders called out:

"Nico?"

Nico looked startled. He gaped over at the one who had spoken and voiced the thought in all our heads: "Luna?"

Luna smiled and walked up to him. "Nico, what are you doing here? I thought that your…"

Nico cut her off with a look. She seemed to understand and grabbed his hand to lead him in a shadowy corner. I followed silently.

Nico said: "Why are you here, Luna? Did my father send you? I can take care of the job myself?"

Luna shook her head. "This is my school. I've always come here. Don't tell me about your mission either, I don't want to know. Got it? We've met, and that's all."

Nico nodded and the two left in opposite directions.

Nico came back to us and Ron asked: "How do you know her?"

He shrugged. "We've met."

And with that, we got on the train. All the compartments were full save one. And that's how we got stuck with the exchange student during the single most interesting train ride I had ever been on.


	3. In Which Nico Laughs

Chapter 3

In which Nico laughs

3rd Person POV

The ride started uneventfully. Nico didn't speak at all. At one point, he took a picture from his backpack, the only thing he had brought with him, and looked at it sadly. Harry looked over at it, curious. It was a picture of Nico, a few years younger, standing next to a girl who seemed a bit older than him. She had a smile on her face.

"Who is that?" Asked Harry.

Nico didn't even bother with a cutting remark as he said: "That's my sister, Bianca."

His tone was impossibly sad, and his eyes were blank from trying to distance himself from the pain.

"Is she here?" Prodded Ron.

Nico's face hardened immediately. "She's dead. She left on a mission for her lady and got herself killed by a defective automaton. Can we stay off her subject please?"

And with that, he put away the picture and leaned his head against the window.

Suddenly, the train jolted to a stop, and the lights blinked out. Nico could feel the intensity mount, hear the heavy breathing of his companions, sense Harry gripping onto his wand as tightly as he could. He heard Neville mutter, "Oh, not _again_," before a strange feeling rose up within his chest. He felt _happy,_ bizarrely happy, and then there was an eerie rattling like a skeleton laughing, and the screech of nails on a chalkboard, and raspy breaths, deep, raspy breaths… A hand curled around the compartment door and opened it revealing a sort of hooded figure that positively reeked of death and despair.

And Nico did the one thing nobody expected.

He threw his head back and _laughed._

His laughter held no humor. It was slow, monotonous, cold and downright _evil_, and Nico couldn't help but think that even his father would have been impressed with it.

And as quickly as it came, it was gone.

Harry had shot something silver out of his wand which resembled a stag, Luna quickly followed, and Neville's silver thing spluttered out before he tried again and succeeded. The silver chased away the darkness.

The cold was driven away, and Nico clung briefly to the sliver of happiness he felt before that was torn away too, and the lights flickered on once more.

"What was that?" He asked no one in particular.

"Dementors," Luna sighed. Her voice was dreamy and light as a cloud, relaxing and soft as a feather.

"Didn't think they'd attack the train," Neville said shakily. "They did that a few years back, remember, Harry?"

Harry didn't speak for a while. He was obviously thinking of something painful, as his brow was furrowed and his eyes weren't gleaming the way they usually did.

"Why did they come? Why would they come?"

_For me_, Nico realized. _They came for me_. And he felt a silent bliss sweep across his mind.

No one spoke for the rest of the train ride. Neville made a few feeble attempts at striking up a conversation, but no one spoke.

And Nico was perfectly fine with that.

When they arrived at the castle, Nico's first thought was that Annabeth would've loved to see it. It was amazing, with majestic arches and hallowed halls, intricate carvings and stone statues lined up perfectly, ornate tapestries depicting the strangest things. Not to mention the paintings that moved and spoke.

What interested Nico the most, however, was the _ghosts_, because his father hated when things escaped death. It caused malfunctions in his perfect, polished system in the Underworld. And a lot of extra paperwork, too. If there was one thing that Hades hated, it was paperwork. Ghosts. At least one hundred of them. 100 souls that shouldn't be there. 100 cowards who feared death. His father was going to be pissed.

They didn't seem to notice him just yet. He had been lined up with the first-years, after Hagrid had to drag him away from the thestrals. They were beautiful to him, and he had stroked one lovingly as it nuzzled his shoulder gently. "I'll, be back, don't worry," he murmured to one before turning to the castle regretfully. He took his place at the back of the line of giggling eleven year olds, grumbling ruefully about being last.

He was mildly surprised when a hat resting on a stool began to s_ing_, and paid no attention to its song- something about the four houses uniting in dark times, and no one having to stand alone. He scowled at this last part, as he had always stood alone, no matter how many times someone said they would be there for him.

An old witch with a strict expression read names off a scroll, and they came forward, settling on the stool as the hat spoke gently to them, then calling out loudly "GRYFFINDOR!" or "SLYTHERIN!" or "RAVENCLAW!" or "HUFFLEPUFF!" Each was greeted by a huge uproar of applause from whatever table they hurried to.

He paid no attention as he examined the ghosts, playing a guessing game with himself, wondering who was who. Nearly Headless Nick was obvious enough, as was Fat Friar, and the Bloody Baron, and after a while he found it was too easy and gave up on the game.

"We are accepting an American exchange student this year," Dumbledore called out merrily. "Please see to it that he is welcome, and he will be joining the sixth years." The students stopped chattering and peered at him curiously.

"DiAngelo, Nico!" The witch at the front table called, and he heard the ghosts muttering, zipping around uncertainly. They seemed to make some sort of agreement, glancing at him uneasily. As he strode down the aisle with strong, powerful steps, any ghosts he passed would bow or kneel, muttering, "My Lord," and "Long may you live."

He muttered: "Scram, guys! You're gonna blow my cover!" The ghosts scrammed.

The students muttered cautiously about the ghosts' behavior, and Nico sat down on the stool as the stern witch dressed in green placed the hat carefully upon his head.

_"So cunning, and ambitious… Yet so loyal to your friends and to those you hold dear…"_ the hat whispered.

Nico stiffened.

"And clever as well, wise beyond your years… Courage beyond measure, I see… would do well in any House, really… Where to put you… Slytherin, you'd certainly flourish there, I believe…"

"You are not going to judge me on my father, hat," he said, venom in his voice. He had heard how Slytherin was 'evil' and 'dark'.

The students were all leaning in, and the hall was completely silent. No one wanted to miss out on the sorting of the exchange student.

"Very well… I shall have to dig deeper into your memories, perhaps…"

Nico panicked. "No." He said coldly, perhaps a bit too loud. "No…"He concentrated all his willpower on blacking out his mind, so the hat couldn't see anything. He glared venomously at the ground in concentration, clenching his fists so hard his nails drew blood from his palms. It dripped steadily to the ground with a _plink, plink_ sound that echoed in the silent hall.

_"Yes…"_ the hat spoke with amusement. _"If you block me out, I'll have to send you to Slytherin…"_

Nico grit his teeth. Then his eyes widened with something dangerous. _Let's see how long you stay amused, hat,_ he thought gleefully. _You wanted to see my memories? I'll let you see them, then…_

And the hat SAW. The hat saw the pain, the blood, the torture, the death, the blood, the death, death, death…

"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The sorting hat's shriek echoed around the hall, so the fake ceiling trembled and the walls shook.

"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

The hat's eyes, or rather, eye holes, were mad with terror.

"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! BLOOD! DEATH! WAR! DARKNESS! PAIN! BLOOD! DEATH! DEATH! SO MUCH DEATH!"

Eventually, when the hat sopped screaming, it managed to say: "To see all this and retain your sanity… Gryffindor, for sheer courage." The witch grabbed it off of Nico's head and carried it to the hospital wing.

Nico rolled his eyes. He spoke quietly, but everybody heard anyways. "Hats." He said disdainfully. "So very temperamental." Everyone heard the cold, cruel joy in his voice. "Where's the Gryffindor table?" The stern witch directed him to a table under a gold and red banner with a lion on it, visibly shaking all the while.

There was no cheering for the sorting of Nico DiAngelo.


	4. In which Professor Trelawney is correct

Chapter 4

In which Professor Trelawny is… correct?

Harry's POV

That night, I looked over at the bunk of the boy who had made the sorting hat scream. He was laying in his bed lifelessly, but I knew he was awake. I walked over and sat on his bed. He didn't respond, just kept staring into space.

"What did the sorting hat see?" I asked.

It was obvious Nico was simply too broken at this moment to refuse to answer, so he just said: "A memory… he saw the war." Nico shuddered.

I pressed on. "What war? A muggle war?"

He laughed dryly. "No. I wouldn't take part in such a foolish struggle as that. You… wouldn't understand. Your kind don't know that war. Just… let me be. Life is hard enough without stupid questions."

I didn't understand what he meant. My kind? I wasn't any special 'kind' anyways…

I got the hint and backed off. I returned to my bed and lay down, but something kept me from sleep. I heard Nico's deep breaths and noticed that even asleep, he was tense. Had he been hurt that much? Was he so used to the impossible and the unexpected that he couldn't even shake it to sleep? He took the term 'constant vigilance' to a whole new level. Even I wasn't like that, and I had the roughest life I knew. Suddenly, Nico inhaled sharply. He whimpered slightly and I got up immediately. I knew he was hiding something, and asleep or dreaming would be the best time to ask him a question. I walked over to him. Everybody else was fast asleep. He was gasping for breath, his head writhing, the rest motionless, as though he were strapped down.

His chest convulsed and he moaned: "No… I won't. Please, stop this. Please. Don't show me… I know what happened! I know…"

His voice died down and he gasped. "No! Bianca, don't! Stop! Please, don't leave me!"

He was dreaming of his sister's death? Suddenly, Nico's piteous whimpers and sobs turned into a full fledged snarl. "I know. I swore it on my life and my grave."

Grave? Did he mean future grave, or that he had already died?

Nico began to writhe again, and suddenly, Nico convulsed again. The shadows around the room began to shift, as though they sensed Nico's fear. "No! You can't do this. Father, hear me. For once, hear my words. You cannot do this… You-"

His body fell limp. He was asleep again. I sighed and went back to bed.

The next morning, I saw that Nico was already up, which was strange. Usually I was the first one up. I got up and left for the common room, where Nico was sitting quietly on a windowsill, writing something on a piece of parchment. He didn't seem to notice me. Occasionally, he would look outside nostalgically. I wondered if he was writing a letter. He finished soon enough and stood, still not sparing me a glance. I understood that he was trying to be secretive, so I stayed there. He knelt in front of the fire and took out a switchblade from his pocket. When he opened it, however, it was no longer a knife. It was a three-foot long sword of pitch black metal. Maybe iron? He looked at it for a minute, then laid it in his palm, drawing his blade quickly across it. His blood flowed freely from the new wound. He held his palm over the fire and chanted: "By the blood of the dead." The fire turned black as his blood dripped into it. Nico continued. "Let the dead taste again. Let them rise and take this message to the depths of Erebus itself. Let them remember." And with that, he placed the parchment reverently in the flames, watching it burn. When it was finished, the fire turned red again and Nico stood to leave. His palm had healed mysteriously fast. Suddenly, there was a tapping at the window that Nico had been writing at. Nico looked at it, startled. He frowned and opened the window, and in flew a stately raven with slick black plumage. Nico didn't so much as blink and took the letter from the bird's right talon. The bird, not waiting for an answer, flew off towards the west. Nico opened the letter and read it quickly. He frowned. He read it again. And again. Then, he let himself collapse to his knees on the floor. He whimpered and rolled the letter up again, placing it on the hearth next to the fire. I wondered what the letter could have contained as Nico rocked back and forth, too sad even for tears. I left quietly, returning to bed. A few minutes later, Ron rolled awake and said: "Where's Nico?"

"In the common room." I responded. "I thought I'd give him some time… something's got him a bit depressed."

And I explained everything I had seen. Ron took it all in and said: "We'll ask Hermione. She'll know. Now, I'm hungry. Let's go to breakfast."

With that said, we got up and dressed, entering the commons. Nico was still there, sitting on the floor, staring forlornly into the fire.

I walked up to him and asked: "You coming to breakfast? They're giving us our schedules today."

Nico nodded and stood, throwing one last look at the fireplace before setting off, a few meters behind us. He didn't make a sound as he walked. However, his grief seemed to wear off. I wasn't sure that was good. He was acting a bit like a cornered rat, wide eyes darting here and there, looking carefully down every corridor as though analyzing whether or not it was a safe escape route should he be attacked. We entered the great hall quietly, and nobody seemed to register our presence except for the ghosts. They gaped at Nico and slunk away, as though afraid of him. Nico sat at the end of the table, picking at his food. He didn't eat, only looked down sadly. Eventually, Ron asked him: "What's going on with you, DiAngelo? You seem different than yesterday."

He seemed to vaguely register the question and simply said: "I just… got some news this morning, and I'm not too happy about it."

"What kind of news?" I interrupted.

He frowned at me confusedly, and my scar burned again. What was with this boy?

He just said: "News about my sister's soul… I knew there was something wrong with her."

He said something in a foreign language and kept picking at his food. We turned to ours, knowing we would get no answers. The upper window of the hall opened, and the mail owls came in. Among them was a Raven that perched itself in front of Nico. It had no letter this time.

Nico glared at it. "What is it now, Atropos? Can't you see I'm not quite in the best mood?"

The bird cawed something and chattered excitedly. Nico rubbed his temples exasperatedly.

"Can't Minos do anything himself? Tell him to remember the golden median. Not enough good, not enough bad. Asphodel, obviously."

I wondered who he was talking to. The raven cawed again and Nico's head lowered sadly.

"I hoped I wouldn't have to do that to him. Tell my father that Luke's judgement falls to him. And remind him that even if he is that far underground and he has that much paperwork, it's no reason to keep him waiting for a whole year. Say that I suggest Elysium, forced rebirth, or a mission."

The bird cawed, took a peck of Nico's uneaten breakfast, and flew off.

Once he was gone, Ron asked: "Were you talking to that bird?"

Nico looked at us strangely. "Yeah, I did. Why?"

Ron frowned. "What did you tell it?"

"My father sent it… it's nothing too grave. He needed some help with business."

He turned away to his schedule, that had been deposited before him. I looked at it. We had the same classes, except that where I had taken muggle studies, he had taken astrology. Our first class was Divination. Oh joy.

I turned to Nico and said: "You'll be following us today. Divination's first. Judging by the sorting hat's reaction to your mind, She'll make a bunch of prophecies about you. Might even give me a break. Don't worry though. All she says is a bunch of hogwash."

Nico nodded and we set off. Ron and I were panting by the time we were halfway up, but Nico was sprinting up the stairs like he did it all the time.

We asked him: "How on earth do you do that?"

Nico shrugged. "If you'd had to run from as many things as I have, you'd be used to this."

And with that, he kept running.

When we arrived in the classroom, we sat Next to Nico, to show him the ropes and to laugh at whatever snide comment he made, which would undoubtedly be funny.

Professor Trelawney walked in. "Greetings, students. You may not have seen me before. I am Professor Trelawney, your divination teacher. I hope that you will open your inner eye in this class…"

At this Nico rolled his eyes and muttered to us: "Is she always like this?"

Ron snorted. "Unless she's predicting Harry's doom, yes."

Trelawny turned to Nico. "You are preoccupied, my dear. My Inner Eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And I regret to say that your worries are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you, alas... most difficult... I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass... and perhaps sooner than you think..."

Nico sighed. "Yes, quite correct. The thing I dread being spending another hour in this classroom. Are we done yet?" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

We all laughed a bit, but Trelawney pressed on. "I see… in your life… a cousin… a boy with eyes of the sea…"

Nico sat up straighter, actually looking worried. I saw fit to enlighten him. "Don't believe her…"

Nico shook me off. "Knowing my cousin, she could be right." He turned to Trelawny again. "What is it about Perseus?"

Trelawny had a strange expression. "A great destiny… A half-blood of the eldest gods-"

Nico relaxed visibly and leaned back, drumming his fingers on the table. "Shall reach sixteen against all odds. Yeah, I know that one."

But the professor was on a roll. "And see the world in endless sleep, hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. A single choice shall end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze."

Nico was the only one who didn't seem remotely bothered by the repeated mentions of death. He just shrugged and said: "I know. You must be a bit out of the seer loop. That prophecy was fulfilled about a year ago. Now, unless you see a prophecy that is actually relevant, could you just get this ridiculous class over with?"

Trelawney said: "There is another… To the north, beyond the gods, lies the legion's crown. Falling from ice, the son of Neptune shall drown-"

Nico burst out laughing. "Oh, this is rich! Percy drowning? Don't I wish…" He chuckled again and said: "Can we just continue the lesson?"

Trelawney had us back on tea leaves that day, and I was relieved that she had stopped declaring my doom and started on the exchange student. After class, however, Nico looked a bit worried.

Ron said: "You don't honestly think she's predicting the future, do you?"

Nico shrugged. "About me, not really. It's obvious she's a fraud. But what he said about my cousin… that worries me. Knowing him, she's probably right."

"What do you mean, knowing him?"

He shrugged. "It's hard to explain. He's a bit like you, Harry. Big destiny, big tragedy. Only…"

He stopped and turned to me. "He chose his path to power and rose to his destiny. He faced his prophecy with the heart of a hero. Now, will you do the same?"

And with that, he left, leaving me thoroughly confused.


	5. In Which Albus Gets a Nasty Surprise

Chapter 5

In which Albus gets a nasty surprise

(Currently) 3rd Person POV

Dumbledore sat across from a raggedy old hat, looking very concerned.

"Please, tell me," he spoke, "What exactly did you see in DiAngelo's mind?"

The Hat took a deep, raspy breath.

"Dark magic," the Hat said shakily. "Very dark magic…"

Dumbledore's brow furrowed.

"Please, continue," he said wearily.

"Tom would love to get his hands on the boy…"

"Is that so?"

The hat shuddered violently. "He was creating armies of Inferi, Albus. _Armies_. He would give the order and they would attack other people, it was so terrible… And then he was in such a dark, desolate place- horrible winged beasts referred to him as Lord, and they were torturing more people who were crying out for mercy, but he looked on with cold indifference… and a war. A terrible war, and a palace made of black stones. Explosions everywhere, burns and hatred… And resentment. There was a Dementor after that. A recent memory… perhaps on the way here. They looked at each other and he was _happy_, Albus. He _laughed."_

Dumbledore's mind clouded with worry. Fear, too. Was this boy so evil as that? "What…"

"I don't know, Albus," the hat said wearily. "I don't know. Not even Tom could do the things he did…"

Dumbledore sighed. "He reminds me much of Tom when he was younger. Perhaps… Perhaps they know each other."

The hat seemed confused. "Yes. They do. Relatives, in fact, if I am not mistaken."

Dumbledore's eyes widened. "Then we must be wary. The boy is far more dangerous than I thought."

Nico's POV

Trelawney was an old fraud. That was obvious. I decided not to dwell on it, however. I figure that all the classes will be rather boring. . But the thought vanishes in Potions class.

Because suddenly, things get much more interesting.

"Ah, the transfer student," Professor Slughorn (I resist the urge to laugh; what type of name is _that_?) booms. "We'll see how good you are, hmm?"

Then the fat old man orders us to make a highly complex healing potion, for Madame Pomfrey. I wonder whether I should mess up on purpose, just to irritate her, but I decided against it.

He diced his gormroot carefully, scooping it up and plopping the pieces into the cauldron, where the brew turns pitch-black. Flipping through the pages of my textbook and trying to decode the English, I carefully translate each ingredient into a leatherbound notebook, where I wrote the potion directions in Ancient Greek. I add the other ingredients without a problem and I stir it carefully seven times clockwise, before realizing he was supposed to stir it counter-clockwise.

Surprisingly, however, the potion turns a deep shade of maroon, which isn't supposed to happen until the potion is complete. _Aha_, I think. _So stirring the healing potion clockwise will make it be done faster._

I wrote it in the spare notebook, meticulously forming the letters in ancient Greek.

Nonetheless, I raise my hand and say, "I'm sorry, Professor, sir, but I seem to have stirred the potion the wrong way, but the color is deep maroon already- could you please help me?"

Slughorn sighs and lumbers over to my cauldron, examining the potion closely. In a few moments he throws his hands in the air in delight, saying, "My dear boy, I believe your potion is perfect! And done so early, too? Marvellous!"

On my way out, Slughorn shook his hand warmly and invited me to attend a party Friday night. "I'm sorry, Professor", I said, looking very apologetic. "I need to complete my essay on Transfiguration of Human Beings and also I have essays on many other subjects as well, I would like to do some studying and finish writing my homework. Perhaps another time?"

"Why of course, my dear boy!" Slughorn sounded falsely cheery, and he couldn't keep the disappointment out of his expression.

"But," I said quickly, "I'm sure I could finish my homework later, if you would like-"

"Oh, no, no, no, that won't do at all," Slughorn interrupted hastily. "School first, I always say…" He chuckled nervously. "Some other time, perhaps?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Oh, and I was wondering about your parentage…"

"My father is a half-blood, sir, I believe everyone knows him." I blurt out the words without thinking.

Slughorn continues. "And your mother?"

I looked down sadly, and, to my great regret, spoke again without thinking. "My uncle killed her when I was ten. I don't remember her. Father doesn't like to speak of her."

Slughorn sighs. "Oh, I'm sorry, my boy."

I just shrugged and said hastily: "Oh, I'll be late for herbology, see you soon, Professor!"

It seems that even though Persephone and I grew closer after the war, she still enjoys tormenting me. Herbology was Tartarus come to haunt me. Professor Sprout had tried to wrestle a Tentacula plant off of me as it leapt into the air and latched itself onto my neck, refusing to let go. It wouldn't stop strangling me until I yelled at it in Ancient Greek- _"GET OFF ME YOU STUPID PLANT!"_ I really did not expect that to work, but it did, and Professor Sprout was unfortunately flung to the far side of greenhouse eleven, and had to be carried by a girl named Hannah Abbot and another boy named Ernie to the Hospital Wing.

"Wow," Neville says from behind him. "D'you think she'll be alright? I hope she is…"

"Sure, she'll be fine." I reply, never taking my eyes off of Harry, who I just spotted chatting with Ron and Hermione, while the first made wild gestures in his direction.

"I'm telling you," Ron says, clearly aggravated, "He's got to be! I mean, you heard him talk to Slughorn! You-Know-Who - everyone knows him, and he's a half-blood, you told us that, Harry-" Ron seems to search for the right thing to say, throwing his hands in the air frantically- "and that's probably why the ghosts are so scared of him, and-"

"I've heard _enough_, Ron!" Hermione hisses at him. "Just because the ghosts respect him and he's excellent at magic and is very studious doesn't mean he's going to be the next Tom Riddle! _I_ personally think he's an excellent student, nothing strange about that!"

"Oh, look," Ron says irritatedly. "Just because he managed to get the potion done in half the time and he's writing throughout the whole class, he's got to be trustworthy!"

"Guys…" Harry tries to break the two apart. He has an aggravated expression on his face, like he's seen this before. I raise an eyebrow in interest.

"Come on, Ron, the idea is far-fetched, just let it go…" Harry sounds rather… strangled.

"And you too, Hermione, this isn't worth getting into a fight over…"

"No! Harry, I've had enough of him and his suspicions! He sees Death Eaters everywhere, and now he's accusing the exchange student -who already has it rough, by the way-"

"Has it rough? Has it ROUGH? Harry's lost both his parents, and you say Nico has it rough?"

"Well, if you're so sure he's Voldemort's son, why don't you talk to him and figure it out?"

"Well, Hermione, if you're so sure he's completely innocent, why don't you go prove he's _not_?"

"Fine then! I will!" Then Hermione stormed off, before reappearing next to me.

"Hello."

"Oh, hello."

"So… how's school?"

"It's okay, nothing bad has happened or anything."

"Ermm…" Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "What about those ghosts?"

"Ahh… It's because of my father. I don't like to talk about him."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Your father?"

"Yes. Can we please drop the subject?" Hermione heard the strain in my voice.

"Oh… do you two… not get along?"

I decided to choose my favorite alias. Resentful. It fit sons of Hades so well…  
>"No. He always favored my sister. She was supposed to take care of me, but she threw me away like garbage and went off on her own on the first chance she got."<p>

Hermione's eyes grew even larger. No one noticed, of course, as everyone else was also using this time to chatter before Professor Sprout got back.

"What happened?..."

"She got herself killed by a defective Talos automaton." I chuckled, but there was no humor in my voice.

"I'm sorry…" Hermione bows her head, and I think I might have caught a glimpse of tears in her eyes.

"Not your fault, is it? No? Then don't be sorry."

"Alright." She takes a deep, shaky breath, before asking hesitantly whether or not I would like to study with her. I shook my head.

"I'd rather be alone it it's quite all right with you. However, I would like to ask you to tell me what this means…"

I opened the potions book again and pointed to an ingredient for the 'Draught of the Living Death'.

She frowned. "Well, it says three drops of phoenix tears. Why? Can't you read it?"

I shook my head. "No, I can't read English, so I translate it."

I took out my notebook and wrote in the ingredient, before strapping it shut and placing both books in my bag. By the time class ended, Hermione had figured out that I wasn't going to answer to her questions, so she left to speak with a friend of hers, Ginny Weasley. When the bell rang, I stood and left, along with everybody else. We walked past Dumbledore in the halls, and he looked at me warily, as though he were afraid of me. I smirked slightly at him and pushed on to Defense Against the Dark Arts.


	6. In Which Nico Meets an Old Enemy

Chapter 6

In which Nico meets an old enemy

Nico's POV

Trelawney was an old fraud. That was obvious. I decided not to dwell on it, however. My day was about to get far, far worse. We had 'defense against the dark arts', or DADA for short. I could just tell that this class was going to be hell. I _was_ the dark arts. I didn't have to defend myself against them. Still, I walked towards the classroom, growing uncomfortable with the strange aura of death in the direction where I was headed. I entered and saw who the teacher was… _you've got to be kidding,_ I thought. _Not even my luck is this bad._ And yet, here I was. Sitting in a classroom with my worst enemy, Severus Snape. I had almost killed him on several occasions. I quickly lowered my head, hoping that he wouldn't see me. I had no such luck. He caught my eye and smiled evilly. I wondered if he still held a grudge against me for trying to reap his soul. Then again, the chances of him forgiving me were pretty slim. Still , the thing that really made my day the worlds worst was the AMR, or Automatic Message Refusal, that had clearly stated that Bianca DiAngelo was not currently dead. That left only one option: rebirth. She had chosen rebirth and hadn't even told me. Who honestly did that? I decided not to dwell on it, but still… That morning I had asked for her guidance. And she wasn't there to help.

I was jolted back to reality by Snape. "Hello class." the new professor exclaimed, casting a furtive glance at me. I scowled.

There were a few mumbled hellos. It was rather obvious the students didn't care much for the dark-haired man before them.

"Today we shall be learning a revealing spell. This spell focuses particularly on how to detect dark magic," He said briskly, glancing slyly once more at me.

My eyes widened. Surely he, even as he loathed me so, wouldn't do that to me?

I closed my eyes in apprehension. Yes, I decided. He would do that, to get his revenge on me for… trying to kill him several times. Hey, it wasn't my fault that he looked like the other guy I had to kill…

"Projycte!" (Greek for reveal) He cried, stepping forward.

There was a chorus of gasps as the closet began to tremble, then rattle violently. Shortly afterwards, a shadow flew out, howling with pain, encased by a pearly-white glow.

I stared in horror. _He's torturing it… he's torturing a part of… a part of…_

A part of _me_, I realized with a start. Dread slowly filled my mind.

"That," he said softly, "Is the Dark Revealing spell."

"Stop." I whispered. It was barely audible, but Severus paused, although the spell continued. "What is it, Mr. DiAngelo?"

"You… You're hurting it. It didn't do anything to you. You're torturing it, and it doesn't know why."

"Ah, so you can relate?" he asked carefully, hoping to make me slip.

I sighed, looking downwards and tracing the scar on the side of my face sadly, remembering an encounter with certain… people I didn't want to meet again. "I know what it's like to hurt for no reason, yes. Please… just let it go. It's innocent."

People began to mutter, but the professor lowered his wand, albeit regretfully. "I have hidden multiple Shadow-Things in this room. Let's see if we can find them all, hmm? If we do, I may teach you another spell… to destroy these creatures for good."

He smiled in my direction, baring his teeth, which glinted for a moment before disappearing behind his smooth façade once more.

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Does anyone know what a Shadow-Thing is?"

Hermione raised her hand.

"Other than Mrs. Granger, perhaps?" amended Snape.

Nobody raised their hands, so Snape motioned to Hermione to answer.

"Shadow-Things," he said, trembling, "Are the manifestation of Dark Magic. They take different forms, depending on how dark they are. Most take the form of shapeless shadows, while some take the form of animals such as wolves or bears. Most are relatively harmless. Unless they converge with a specific purpose, all they can really do is create a generally bad mood. However, some rare ones are called Shadow-Beings."

Snape nodded. "Go on." he said softly.

Hermione drew a shaky breath.

"Shadow-Beings are actually just another name for humans who have been cursed or touched by the Darkest magic. All recorded Shadow-Beings are dark wizards. They are extremely powerful and do not appear to be capable of any emotion. They usually have the appearance of someone who is half-dead."

Several people turned to stare at me. I hadn't eaten in a while, and my dreams, like what I had last night, always drained me. I did look rather like a corpse. I stared straight ahead, my face absolutely emotionless. Perhaps not the best idea.

"That is correct, Mrs. Granger. Now, you may begin."

There were many cries of "Projycte!", but many were not pronouncing it correctly, to little or no effect; Hermione had detected one hanging from hanging from the ceiling, and the other students were improving, and they found many as well. Soon enough, the classroom was filled with the screams of these shadows.

I stood motionless amidst the havoc.

"Adequate work. Now, please return to your seats!" He called, after a while.

There were a few groans as the students trudged back.

"Now, it appears we still have twenty minutes left- that will be enough time, I think, for me to demonstrate the Dark Destroying Spell."

Mutters of excitement rose amongst the students. He silenced them with a disapproving glance. All eyes were on the professor. I found my mind wild with fear; I imagined that my expression must be like a cornered animal…

"Katastrepsy!" (Greek for destroy) He shouted suddenly, and a brilliant white glow emerged from the tip of his wand, headed for the shadow on his desk. But then he smirked, and I knew what would happen…

The glow stopped and did not consume the Shadow-Thing he had on display, rather, it flitted in my direction, rousing many gasps and shrieks among the other students.

I closed my eyes. I would not let Snape see the fear in them. Then, Pain. Excruciating pain, I felt like I was burning. The light seeped through my body and burned it, _poisone_d it… it was like poison streaming through my veins, slowly killing me from the inside…

I clutched at my heart as the light's reach extended to it. I gasped in pain and opened my eyes wide. The light was completely encasing me now, and I was levitating…

Suddenly, I roared in pain as a vaguely humanoid shadow erupted from my body. I fell to the ground, on my knees, as everybody watched the shadow, my soul, flit around the room. I stood, clutching at my heart. I pointed at the shadow and whispered, out of strength for a louder sound, out of strength for even English… "_Serve me."_ But the shadow didn't obey. It floated away, through the ceiling and out of sight. I roared again in sheer pain and reached for a hip-flask that I kept full of Nectar. I drank, expecting to feel the soothing of the godly drink. The burning stopped, but I felt choked. I couldn't breathe. I clutched at my throat with both hands, making useless gulps for air…

I fell to the ground, writhing in pain as the poison of _light_ entered my very soul.

Then I saw a darkness that was not comforting as it usually was to me. It wasn't a dark of death. It was the darkness that was _nothing_, the darkness that created the world. I couldn't hold back anymore and I screamed in pain as the darkness enveloped me.

The last thing I heard was Professor Snape laughing.


	7. In Which Harry Draws Conclusions

Chapter 7

In which Harry draws conclusions.

Harry's POV

I didn't know what to make of this. How had a dark destruction spell hurt Nico so much? We knew he was a bit strange already, but this showed that Nico was downright evil.

"A shadow being…" muttered Hermione, who was still in shock.

Luna joined and walked with us. "I hope Nico's all right. I'd hate for him to die so soon."

Luna seemed… different. More down to earth, grounded. Her usually dreamy gray eyes were hard and discerning, her steps louder and surer. And the way she spoke about Nico dying… she acted like death was something she'd seen so often that it didn't even affect her. Which made no sense. Luna wasn't the kind of person to see those things.

Hermione said: "What do you mean? He's a shadow being! He's…"

"One of the greatest heroes I've ever seen. He's saved my life several times, Hermione. That shadow that left him… That's his magic. That's his soul."

She left us to contemplate that as she walked away towards the hospital wing to make sure Nico was okay.

As soon as she was gone, Ron said: "I think he's a Death Eater."

We waited for Hermione to disagree, but she didn't. She sighed and nodded. "I don't want to believe it, but the evidence is irrefutable."

To everybody's apparent surprise, I was the one to disagree. "Since when does Voldemort recruit so young? He's fourteen."

Then it hit me. He was fourteen. "Wait… why is he in sixth year? He should be in fourth. He's two years younger than us…"

This was definitely suspicious. Then, Ron said the most un-Ron like thing I had ever heard him say.

"He's not a Death Eater."

Hermione frowned. "Of course he is, Ron. What else could he be? He even makes Harry's scar burn."

Ron shook his head. "I saw his arms, on the train. He was wearing short sleeves. He didn't have the mark. DiAngelo isn't a Death Eater."

Hermione gasped. "I can't believe I was so stupid! You're right!"

I interrupted. "But… I don't think there are any other evil organizations. It's hard to be an evil loner. He'd need a group. The question is who."

"That leaves only one other option." Said Ron grimly. "Nico DiAngelo is Voldemort's son."

I would have shaken the idea off if it hadn't been so plausible. Our suspicions were only strengthened later when we looked into the hospital wing. The beds were empty. Nico was gone.

Immediately, I said: "I'm going to look for him. I'll befriend him and try to find out his secrets."

Hermione frowned. "He'll kill you. Let us go with you."

I shook my head. "He'll get suspicious if it's three of us. One, he'll fall for more easily."

They looked worried, but nodded. I set off to the Gryffindor common room to get the Marauder's Map. I opened it and searched for Nico. He wasn't in the castle, and he wasn't near Hagrid's. In fact, he didn't seem to be anywhere… until I scanned the lake. He was right next to it, just standing there. I slipped outside to find him.

Night had fallen. The stars were bright in the sky, and the nearly full moon cast eerie shadows on the ground. I walked towards the lake. There, I found Nico.

He was simply standing there, his eyes closed, his hair being tousled by the wind. I was within about three feet of him when he said: "Hello, Potter."

I stopped short. "How did you know I was there?"

His eyes were still closed as he said: "I can sense you. Your aura. I can feel souls around me. Usually, it's vague. But your soul is different. It's darker, and… there's a lot of death in it. I can relate to that."

His voice was far away, vague and a bit dreamy. Kind of like Luna's, only sadder.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Learning."

"What could you possibly learn from this? You're just standing there."

He sighed. "I'm learning about the world. If you stand there long enough, you can feel the life around you. For people like me, we see so much death that sometimes it's hard to remember that life is just as important."

Somehow, his words resonated in my spirit. He wasn't tricking me or anything. He was telling the truth. And I wanted in on this… secret.

"Tell me how."

He smiled. Eyes still closed, he said: "Take off your shoes."

I looked down at his feet. They were bare. "Why?" I asked carefully.

"You can feel the ground beneath you. The grass, the soil, the sand, they're a part of life."

I nodded and did what I was told. Nico continued. "Now, face the wind and close your eyes."

I did that as well. With my eyes closed, my other senses opened. I felt the prickle of the grass beneath my feet, and I could hear the gentle lapping of the water of the lake a few yards before me. It was relaxing, and I really could feel the world around me.

When I opened my eyes, however, unable to stand the silence around me, Nico was surrounded by an aura of black shadow. His body seemed paler than ever. The waves began to recede, which made no sense, seeing as there were no tides in the lake.

Before my eyes, the black shadow began to expand. The grass around it turned brown and smoking, dead and dry. Nico's eyes were still closed, completely calm. I watched in horror as everything around Nico died. Then, suddenly, when the shadow was about to reach me, Nico's eyes snapped open. The shadow disappeared immediately. He looked at the dead grass around him, his eyes wide. He looked at me in terror and said: "I-I didn't! I mean… I didn't mean…" He looked at me again and ran. I followed him, not even noticing when he ran straight into the forbidden forest. The forest was rather unforgiving. The leaves were dry and crackling, small branches cutting at my skin. I found myself barred soon enough and had to slow to a walk. I followed Nico's footsteps to the heart of the forest. There, in a clearing, I saw him. He was a wreck already. Twigs in his hair, his whole body scratched and bleeding. His bare feet were red and swollen. He was speaking to someone… and image in mist. I hid behind a tree to listen.

"Nico, what happened to you?" It was the boy in the mist.

"Ran. The forest here is like the one at camp. Look, I'm being followed. We have to be vague. No names, except for me. You can call me Nico."

The boy nodded. "Okay, Nico. But… why are you talking to me if this line isn't secure?"

"We have urgent business. I need backup. Ask Chiron, he knows my mission. You have to come here. Perferably with others."

"Who?"

"Owl head, Sparky, yourself. Bring Lou Ellen."

The boy frowned. "Why Lou Ellen?"

Nico shrugged. "I'll send you a letter with a better explanation, along with how to find me."

"Send a letter? How? Don't tell me there's a post office there…"

Nico laughed. "No, you idiot. I'll send you a letter attatched to Atropos."

"Who's Atropos?"

Nico sighed. "What owl-head sees in you I'll never know. Atropos is my raven, you fool! I have to go now. I'll see you. Don't come right away. Take your time, Kelp-head. Take your time. Or, no. don't wait up for Atropos. Ask Lou Ellen for the location of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She knows where it is."

"Hogwarts? What-"

"Don't ask questions. Just go. I can't talk more, Kelp-head. Just do it."

The black-haired boy nodded and slashed through the mist and disappeared.

Nico turned to look at me. "You heard all of that."

I nodded. "I know everything I need to know."

He laughed. "You don't know anything. Be more careful. It's often better to now nothing than it is to know the truth."

With that, he pointed at me and muttered something under his breath. A black light left his finger and wrapped around my body like a vine. I knew better than to resist.

Nico looked at me for a second and said: "Oh, don't worry. It's not permanent. Give it fifteen minutes and it'll wear off. Nothing will attack you here tonight. You'll be fine. This'll give me a bit of a head start to the castle, where you can't kill me."

And with that, he turned and ran away. For those fifteen minutes, I pondered the dark magic I had seen; the unwitting dark aura that had killed everything in its path, the pitch-black glowing bonds that encircled me. And suddenly, all the pieces clicked.

Nico DiAngelo looked like the young Tom Riddle.

Nico DiAngelo was a teacher's pet.

Nico DiAngelo was Slughorn's favorite.

Dumbledore seemed to be wary of Nico DiAngelo.

Nico DiAngelo said he had a half-blood father who was ashamed to be a half-blood.

Nico DiAngelo, I thought with a pang, could very well be what Ron had suggested.

Nico DiAngelo could very well be…

The Son of Lord Voldemort.


	8. In Which Draco Sees More Than he Should

Chapter 8

In Which Draco is Afraid

Nico's POV

After that episode, Hogwarts became reasonably normal. Or at least, as normal as Hogwarts could be. Dumbledore avoided me like the plague, and I didn't have a moment alone because Harry, Ron, and Hermione kept on following me. However, I learned quickly enough that my father's words were correct: I would have to find a suitable alias to excuse my fondness for umbrakenisis and dark arts.

However, nothing presented itself, so I simply continued with my life. One day, I went to the library, set on finding some books I could actually read.

I walked up to Madame Pince, the librarian. "Excuse me?"

She looked up absentmindedly. "Yes, Mr. DiAngelo?"

I gave her a smile. "I wanted to know if you had any books in Ancient Greek. I can't read English."

She frowned confusedly, but nodded and stood. "This way."

I followed her through the bookshelves. I saw a sign marked: 'Restricted', but we walked past it, into the far end of the library. She gestured to the last bookcase. "These are all our ancient books. Most of them are in Greek, but some are in Latin. Feel free to stay and read them, or borrow them at your leisure."

I nodded and scanned the books quickly. Most were books of myths and such. The bookcase would have given Annabeth a heart attack. She would have truly loved it. I looked at the spines of the books. Most were old and dusty, but some looked new and recently read. Luna had probably read them: Being a Demigod, she couldn't read English very well either. And being a daughter of Athena, she couldn't live without a book.

I looked at the books that were recently read and found several textbooks, much to my surprise. In fact, looking closer, I found the textbooks required for my year. I looked at them in disbelief. Frankly, I didn't know how many demigods were also wizards, but probably not enough to actually translate the textbooks into Ancient Greek.

Still, I took the books I needed and leafed through them. They were good as new, not marked at all. I smiled and put them in my bag, walking away as fast as I could, to avoid people thinking that it was suspicious to read Ancient Greek. I walked through the corridors.

I passed by Peeves who was aiming for a student with some water balloons. I called out: "Peeves! Stop that!"

Peeves stopped immediately. He bowed to me, apologizing profusely. I waved him off. The would-be-victim gazed at me with a strange expression on his face. "Peeves only listens to the Bloody Baron…"

I shrugged and commented: "I hate poltergeists. They give all ghosts a bad name."

I decided not to linger and set off for the Gryffindor common room. Of course, once I was there, I was confronted Hermione and Ron. As if I couldn't sense them from a mile away. They had been following me under their stupid cloak all that time. I could sense it because the cloak had been given a gift from Thanatos himself.

I decided to have a little laugh and said: "Finally decided to come out from under your little cloak then? That's good, seeing as it must be a tight fit for the two of you."

Hermione was the first one out. "How did you know we were there?"

I smirked. "How can I always track down where Harry is? I can sense them because of their aura."

"Aura?" Asked Ron, who came out next.

I nodded. "Yes. That cloak's aura is made up mostly of death, so I can feel it, and Harry… he's a special case. His soul is a lot like mine… or at least one of them is. Do you two know how it's possible that he has two souls?"

They frowned at me confusedly. "Two souls? You must be mistaken. How could Harry have two souls?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, but I intend to find out. Now, if you don't mind…"

And I turned and walked away.

On a whim, however, I decided not to enter the common room, which would be full of Gryffindors at this hour, and therefore not the best place to read my new textbooks, or practice a bit of magic. So I walked through the school, trying to find a dark, shadowy corner to disappear into. I wandered for a bit, until I reached the bowels of the castle. I walked past the potions dungeon and a few others. I had been told that the dungeons were deep and that most people didn't even know how far down they went. Oh, they had no idea. I could sense the excavated tunnels beneath the earth, cold, dark, and damp. Definitely my kind of place. I knew where the Slytherin dormitories were, and avoided them, walking through the dungeons until I reached a dead end. I looked at the empty dungeon. There was nothing special about it, which just made me more sure that there was some secret inside it. I looked at the opposite wall curiously. The wall had some kind of archway in it, and one of the stones had a mark on it. It was…

The mark of Hades. There was the mark of Hades on this wall. I looked closer at the archway. Around it was an inscription: an inscription in Ancient Greek. I looked at it intently.

_In the earth, where no sun shines,_

_There you shall find the home of lies._

_There are no windows, are no doors,_

_A son of death to settle scores._

_The light that falls upon the sign,_

_Shall open wide the door of pine._

A prophecy? Really? Well, a prophecy about the son of death… well, that had to be me, didn't it? I read it over and over again, looking for a clue.

_In the earth, where no sun shines_

That was obvious enough, really. I was 'in the earth' and there was no sunlight save for a small crack in the ceiling, where a flickering light, likely from a torch, danced around on a small point on the floor. I continued to the next line.

_There thee shall find the home of lies._

Worrying, but not unheard of. It was obviously behind the archway. (Who would make an archway with a symbol and an inscription and put nothing behind it, huh?)

There are no windows, are no doors

No windows or doors in the home of lies, most likely.

_A son of death to settle scores._

That was me, obviously. I was often sent to 'settle' a person's soul if they were overdue.

_The light that falls upon the sign,_

_Shall open wide the door of pine._

The door of pine. I looked at the archway closely, trying to find a piece of wood. I found nothing, but the first part… the light that falls upon the sign.

Light… light! I looked at the torchlight flickering from the crack. It didn't look like a structural problem. It looked… like it had been broken intentionally. That gave the light that had to hit the sign… the mark of Hades!

I had no idea where the door of pine was, but frankly, I was sure that it was simply a name for the door hidden somewhere inside this archway.

I looked closer at the symbol of Hades on the wall. It was small and discreet, but still displayed in the center of the archway.

It was a carved glyph, like a cross with the arms curved upwards, and a head on top. Actually, it looked like a crudely drawn person. Only this one was a bit different than the normal ones. First of all, it was chipped, showing that somebody had tried (and failed) to force their way in. So I couldn't get in without figuring out the riddle on the archway. The other strange thing was the head of the glyph. It wasn't carved or embossed like the rest of the symbol. It was a perfectly round stone. Amber.

Why amber? It made no sense. Amber wasn't particularly precious, nor was it sacred to my father. In fact, it was sacred to Helios, which made even less sense, since there was no sunlight here.

Then it hit me. _The door of pine_. Amber was made from the sap of a Pine tree. To open the door, light had to hit the stone. I studied the hole in the ceiling. It was relatively steady, but such a pinpoint that it required perfect accuracy. I needed a reflective surface. I looked around, then remembered my knife. I pulled it out of my boot and placed it in the way of the light. Sure enough, it reflected and send light shooting towards the archway. I tried to steady my trembling hands as I guided the sunlight towards a glyph. However, a scuffle broke my concentration and my knife clattered to the floor. I turned and saw a boy with silver-blonde hair and green-hemmed robes. Draco Malfoy. Crap, was I in trouble. He stared at me and at the knife, his eyes flitting between the two quickly, then he turned and fled. As I raced after him, I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps I was going to visit my father's kingdom a bit sooner than planned.


	9. In Which Nico is Helpless

Chapter 9

In Which Nico is Helpless

Harry's POV

Ron, Hermione, and I were walking down the corridors when we found a group of muttering people staring at a scene in the center of the courtyard. We pushed through the crowd and saw Nico, standing in front of McGonagall rather sullenly.

"I wasn't actually going to attack anybody with them…" said Nico petulantly.

"I know you weren't," replied McGonagall, just as quietly. "But - knives, Mr. DiAngelo?"

"I need-"

"Knives?"

"You don't know what it's-"

"Knives?"

Nico gave up.

"I want them," McGonagall said flatly.

Nico stuttered, outraged.

"All of them." She added.

"But it's not safe," protested Nico. "What if I have to defend myself?"

"You have your wand for protection. I want the knives, and whatever other weapons you are concealing."

Nico sighed and flexed his right wrist. A dagger shot out of his sleeve. The blade was midnight black. Nico placed it reluctantly in McGonagall's waiting hand. She frowned at him.

"All of them, Nico."

Nico groaned and reached into his boot, bringing out another knife of the same style.

He removed his skull ring and placed it in McGonagall's palm.

She frowned at it. "How is this a weapon?"

Nico sighed. "I forgot you didn't know."

He took the ring back and slipped it on, before twisting the ring a quarter turn. It transformed into a sword in his hand, three feet of razor-sharp Iron, glinting wickedly in the sunlight. The people who had gathered backed up several paces. He twisted the blade and it transformed into a ring again, which he placed in McGonagall's palm.

She sighed. "Do you have any more?"

Nico looked down sullenly. "Yes."

She said nothing, but continued to stare him down. He reached into his bag and brought out a little statuette of black stone. He transformed it into a dagger and placed it in McGonagall's hand, but he held on to it a little longer than the others. I realized it must have an emotional significance to him.

Then, he reached into his robe and brought out an arrow. It wasn't black like the other weapons. It was silver, covered in rust-colored stains that I recognized as blood.

He held it out, but didn't let go. "Can I keep this, please?"

McGonagall frowned. "Why this? You have no bow to shoot it. It is rather useless."

Nico sighed. "It's all I have left of my sister."

Dead silence ensued. Had this killed her sister or something? But McGonagall shook her head.

"I am sorry, Mr. DiAngelo, but you cannot. Weapons are not permitted in Hogwarts."

He looked down sadly and held the dagger to his chest. I thought I saw a tear trace down his pale cheek. He made as though to give it to her, when he did the unexpected. He looked straight at McGonagall and snapped the arrow in two as though it were a toothpick.

He stared straight at McGonagall, who looked very confused.

His voice was deadly, like he had nothing else to lose, as he said: "No. Her arrow stays with me or it stays with nobody. It's too valuable to leave in an enemy's hands."

And the earth began to open at his feet, a crack that turned into a larger crevice. The arrow fell down it and the fissure closed. Nico looked down at it like it was nothing strange. Then, he looked at McGonagall in something best described as absolute terror at her dumbfounded (and a little scared) expression. He began to back up quickly as McGonagall approached him.

"I-I-I didn't mean… I mean… don't come closer. Please. Just…"

He turned away from McGonagall. His voice was a little shaky. "You're going to kill me now, aren't you?"

He closed his eyes and stopped moving. Nothing happened. The courtyard could have been empty.

Then, he called over his shoulder: "Well, what are you waiting for? Just kill me already!"

McGonagall frowned. "Why would I kill you?"

He turned to frown at her quizzically and began to say: "Because-"

And then he just stopped, looked at McGonagall and said, softly: "Thank you." There was no sarcasm in his tone, just real, grateful thanks, like he really didn't think he deserved to live. Actually, he probably didn't think he did.

He turned and broke into a heavy run into the castle, disappearing behind a corner.

Later, Hermione, Ron, and I were walking again, wondering why on earth we would kill him.

"It's because he's Voldemort's son, that's why. And frankly, he was very foolish to do that dark magic in front of everybody like that…"

"Dark magic?"

"Well, yes, it's a form of umbrakenisis, making the earth swallow something. The ministry banned Umbrakenisis twenty years ago, when the ministry was first trying to find and imprison death eaters. Most dark artists use it."

I frowned. "This is a lot to take in. I'd be more worried about the fact that we don't know where he is. You two have to follow him. He can sense me if I get too close, and apparently, he can sense the cloak. So you have to do what you can and follow him muggle-style, so he really can't tell you're here."

They nodded and set off, and I turned the nearest corner, headed for the Headmaster's office.

It was time that Dumbledore knew.


	10. In Which Luna is Worried

Chapter 10

In Which Luna is Worried

Nico's POV

Damn him. Damn Draco Malfoy to Tartarus for telling about the knives. I had to admit it, I was angry. Bianca had reminded me to never hold a grudge, but it was hard. These people were trying to ruin me. I was helpless to any monster attack until I managed to get my weapons back, which wasn't likely to happen anytime soon. I cursed. How was I supposed to get my weapons from McGonagall? She probably had a ton of wards against that kind of thing. I didn't even know where she kept them… The sword would return to me in a few hours, but I liked to keep my options open, and frankly, if I was disarmed, I wanted to have at least a knife. Then there was the arrow. The arrow was broken, laid in the earth the way Bianca never was.

I chose to send an IM to Percy. He'd know what to do, and from my analysis, Harry and his cloak were in the headmaster's office. It worried me, but didn't really matter. I raced to the common room and reached into my trunk, where I kept a prism for IM's. It was easier to use than a spray bottle. I turned and ran out before anybody saw me, racing down into the dungeons again. I didn't know why, but I really liked that dungeon. It was dark, damp, and smelled of death. The perfect place for a son of Hades. I reached it at length and placed the prism in the center of the pinpoint bead of light. Sure enough, a rainbow shot out the end.

I tossed in a Drachma, saying: "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Percy Jackson."

The mist formed an image of a forest. It was the middle of the afternoon, and my backup was walking through the underbrush. Lou Ellen, daughter of Hecate, was leading the group: Annabeth, Thalia, and of course, Percy. Lou Ellen stopped when she saw the IM.

"Nico! What's wrong?" She asked immediately.

I shook my head. "They confiscated my weapons, which stinks, but this place has powerful wards. Only a really powerful monster could get in. Where are you guys? I might need help sooner than expected."

I explained the door, showing them the archway and inscription. "I can open it now, but I'd rather not be alone when I do. You never know what's behind it, and 'House of lies' doesn't really make me trust it."

Annabeth frowned. "I don't know anything about a house of lies in mythology…"

Hearing her voice reminded me of something. "Oh, and Annabeth! I forgot to tell you! Your sister goes to school here! Luna, remember? We're in the same year."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Oh, she's going to have a lot of explaining to do when we get there."

Suddenly, Thalia stopped, sniffing the air. She frowned and turned to me. "Nico, there's something on your trail. It's big and powerful, and it can probably make it through whatever wards you have up there. Be on your guard and ready to fight. I don't care how you do it, but you have to get your weapons. You have one hell of a fight in front of you. We can't talk. We'll try to reach you as soon as possible. Keep Luna and yourself alive."

I nodded and slashed through the connection.

I set off, mumbling to myself. I didn't really pay attention to where I was going, but I found myself in the astronomy tower. I looked up at the clear sky, wondering how the gods could keep something as big as the sky so pristine, blue and clear when life on earth was so messed up. Bianca was dead. I had been given an impossible mission to kill my own brother.

And… a few nights ago, I had had a dream. Hades had told me that my mission was taking too long… and he had said: _I will accept nothing but success from you, Nico. You will find Tom Riddle, and you will kill him, or so help me Zeus I will take your soul instead of his._ My father had threatened to kill me, and I was pretty sure that he wasn't joking.

I stayed in the tower the rest of the day. It was the weekend, and I had finished my homework early by writing it in Ancient Greek then using a translation charm that Luna had taught me, so there wasn't much to do. I sat there watching the stars as night fell, eventually leaving for dinner. In the great hall, there was nothing particularly strange happening. In the middle of dinner, my ring re-appeared on my finger, and I stuffed it in my pocket before anybody could see it.

But then, the doors to the great hall slammed open. All conversation ceased at once, and we turned to the girl in the doorway. It was Luna. Her eyes were wide and searching, and I could see fear in them as well as she looked straight at me. "Nico, we have a problem."


	11. In Which Luna is Very Much Dead

Chapter 11

In Which Luna is Very Much Dead

Harry's POV

"What problem?" I asked, bewildered.

I looked to Dumbledore for support, but he was staring at Nico, wide-eyed. Nico in turn was staring at Luna in absolute terror. "Who exactly is this problem? It isn't… you know?"

Did he mean You-Know-Who? Voldemort was here?

Luna shook her head. "No, not him. It's… It's Kampe. Kampe's back."

Nico frowned. "We killed her after the labyrinth two and a half years ago. It can't be her."

What? Killed?

Luna frowned at Nico. "I wouldn't be telling you if it weren't the truth. She's after us."

Nico stood and said: "Luna, stay here. I'll take her."

Luna shook her head. "No. I want to fight. I want to help."

He shook his head. "I promised Annabeth I'd keep you alive, Luna. Please."

She shook her head. "No. I'm sorry, Nico, but I'm going to help you. I'm not going to let you die while I owe you a favor."

Nico grabbed her shoulders. "Are you insane, Luna?"

I resisted the urge to answer _yes, she is._

She glared at him venomously. I'd never seen Luna glare before, and I was very happy I hadn't. It was scary.

Nico faltered, and his face softened. He hugged her briefly, then let go. He set off out of the great hall, stopping in the doorway and saying: "Luna, meet me here in three minutes exactly. Bring your weapons."

Luna had weapons too? Wow.

I was surprised that Dumbledore hadn't interfered yet, but he didn't. He simply stood and said: "Luna, are you absolutely sure about this threat?"

She nodded grimly. "I couldn't possibly be wrong. She's the only option."

"What is it?" Asked a Ravenclaw. Luna sighed. "Kampe is a dragoness with the head and torso of a woman. She's vicious, deadly, bloodthirsty, and she decided to kill Nico and myself, and she'll kill all of you to get to us if need be."

A Slytherin yelled: "Kampe? That's a myth!"

Luna stared at him for a second, seemed to hesitate, then said: "Even myths are based in fact."

She turned and ran out the door, following Nico. Nobody moved. We just stared at the door, waiting for the two to return. Every minute felt like an eternity. There were rather loud roars outside, of an angry beast of some sort. I was itching to get out there, but I knew that if I set foot out there, the beast would kill me in seconds.

Nico was the first one back. He was wearing… armor. It would have looked ridiculous had Nico not looked so scary. His sword was drawn (how he got it from McGonagall I'll never know), and his face was so grim that it scared me. Luna arrived seconds later. She looked so different from the Luna I knew that I barely recognized her. She was wearing a bronze breastplate and carried a helm under her arm, a spear in her hand. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and her eyes were no longer misted. I saw the result of the change that Nico's arrival had brought her. She stared at Nico for a second and nodded, setting off through the doors. Nico waited a second before following.

He had reached the door when Dumbledore said: "Nico."

Nico stopped short. He didn't turn around, simply waited. Dumbledore said: "You'll be killed."

Nico didn't so much as blink. Iron ran through his voice as he said: "I am not afraid of death. If I die, I'll die with honor." He paused for a second before saying: "I will die a hero's death."

And with that, he turned and ran off. It was silent for a second, and Dumbledore said: "Well, what are you waiting for, Mr. Potter? We all know you're dying to see what happens. Go, by all means."

There was a pause, and everybody stood, running out the doors.

When we arrived at the courtyard, we saw why Luna and Nico seemed so scared. Kampe was terrifying.

We stayed in the shadows, watching. Nico and Luna were fighting already. Luna was jabbing at the dragon body with her spear, although she rarely got a shot in. Nico was keeping the monster busy in front, taunting it, occasionally making jabs at her head. Kampe fought back. She had two slightly curved blades, the tips dripping green poison. I didn't know how, but I knew that if that poison so much as touched me, I would die a horrible death.

Nico was a blur of black. He dodged every blow, and the shadows seemed to thicken around him as he fought. I didn't know what it was. I didn't even know what this creature was.

"Why aren't we fighting it?" It was Ron.

Dumbledore, suddenly next to us, answered. "It's not a creature of our world. It's a creature of Nico's, and our spells can't hurt it. We can only watch and hope for the best. I hope the two of them come out alive."

I gaped. "Professor, you can't be serious! You want Nico alive? He's Voldemort's son!"

We had spoken of this earlier in his office, and Dumbledore had agreed with me completely, saying that he was almost sure that Nico was in fact Voldemort's son and that I should try to stay away from him, and that if the need arise, I was to defend myself any way I had to, even if it killed Nico. Now he was changing his mind?

"I have just received a vital piece of the puzzle, Harry. If Nico dies now, you will not stand a chance against Lord Voldemort. Now, watch. I wish to see what he can do."

We turned our attention back to the battle. It raged on, but nobody seemed to have the upper hand, until Kampe made a move. She slashed with her scimitar and her sword pierced Luna's chest. She screamed in pain as she was flung a few yards off.

Nico yelled: "LUNA!" and the earth began to rumble.

The ground cracked open, turning into a chasm. Shadows everywhere flew to Nico's sword as he raised it.

"Serve me."

He spoke clearly, his words resonating in my spirit. And that was when the ground exploded. From the crevice in the earth, a single skeletal hand came out, clawing at the surface. The first skeleton came out, in full armor, with a spear and a sword. Then another. Then another, until there were about twenty undead warriors standing there. Then, as one, they all charged Kampe.

It was terrible. Kampe screamed and fought, but the warriors could not be killed. They fell in a heap of bones, only to recover and continue fighting. Little by little, Kampe died, leaving us bewildered, staring at Nico, who had made the dead live again.

He stared at us then stumbled back, clearly exhausted by the strength it had taken him to summon these dead people. He stared at us fearfully, then caught sight of Luna. He ran to her, kneeling next to her limp form.

She was breathing, but barely. Her chest rose and fell quickly, her eyes wide with fear.

She coughed up a bit of blood and said: "Nico… Please."

Nico shook his head. "I'm sorry, Luna."

She pleaded with him a while longer, and I could tell that Nico was beginning to lose.

"Please…"

Nico bit his lip and grasped his sword.

He placed his hand on the bleeding gash cut into Luna's chest.

He held the tip of his sword over Luna's body.

Luna Whimpered as Nico brought the blade down, stopping as the tip of his sword trembled mere millimeters from her chest.

Nico paused, and I heard him whisper: "May the gods forgive me."

He pushed the blade down.

Through his own hand, clean through Luna's body.

Luna gasped once, and her eyes glazed over as she fell limp.

She was dead.

I head a roar as a Ravenclaw girl stormed towards Nico, but a black aura surrounded him and Luna and she could not get through.

Nico began to chant in Latin. I could not understand it, but I could tell it was an incantation of some sort.

Luna began to glow with a white light that pulsed over her pale skin. Where Luna's skin had turned greenish from the poison on the scimitars, the poison seemed to leave. Only then did I realize that Nico was drawing the poison from her wound to his. He was drawing out the poison. I didn't see what good it would do, but I didn't move. I heard several sobs from the Ravenclaws and even a few muttered vows of vengeance, but nobody moved as Nico worked.

Suddenly, Luna stopped glowing. Nico collapsed backwards, his body a sickly green color.

That was when the impossible happened.

Luna's eyes snapped open.


	12. In Which Nico is in Very Big Trouble

Chapter 12

In Which Nico is in Very Big Trouble

Nico's POV

Gods, I am an idiot.

Not only did I let Luna almost get killed, but I also summoned an army of undead warriors. That means I'm too sleepy to fight, I can't get away, and I may as well have put up a sign saying: 'dark wizard here! Please kill me!' In short, I've just signed my own death warrant. I was, for once in my life, actually terrified. These people could kill me before I had time to complete the job I had been sent here to do. I could fail in my duties, and I knew my soul would probably get eternal torture in the fields of punishment for that.

Still, I stayed next to Luna as her eyes darted around, trying to drink in anything at once.

She opened her mouth and said: "Am I dead?"

I shook my head. "You almost were. As strange as this sounds, You're lucky Kampe is so cruel. That made your dying slow enough for me to remove the poison before it reached your heart. You almost died, Luna. Try not to make a habit of it… I don't really feel like stabbing you again."

"Why did you do that anyways?" She asked curiously.

I smiled. "I had to put you in a comatose state or withdrawing the poison would have surely killed you."

She tried to sit up, but she fell back almost immediately. I caught her and helped her up. I turned to Dumbledore's shocked face and decided that I had to get out of there before the shock wore off. I tried my best to ignore the poison in my veins that I had drawn from Luna. I probably had about three hours to find a cure. Absolutely brilliant.

"Tell your healer that she needs sleep and some nectar. She'll be fine."

I knew that Dumbledore would understand about the godly drink when I mentioned it. He was probably a demigod.

"And you? What will you do to keep from dying?"

I shrugged at his question. "Get out of here before you come to your senses and kill me. I only need some sleep."

With that, I turned and walked away. I wondered why I wasn't dead yet. I wasn't even in pain. I could feel the ice cold of the poison seeping through me, but it didn't hurt.

Dumbledore called: "Wait."

I rolled my eyes and turned around. "You're crazy, even for your family. And that's saying something. Which is yours? Zeus? Apollo? Or perhaps you are one of Aneas' kind? Perhaps not. You don't seem like a Legionnaire."

Dumbledore glared at the casual mention of the gods' names. "Hermes."

I smiled. I should have known it. Then it hit me.

He hadn't been there at the Titan war.

He hadn't been there to help us.

I knew that he was powerful enough to turn the tide of the war…

"If you had been there, then maybe Luke would be alive."

The words escaped my lips before I could catch them, but Dumbledore made no sign of recognition, so I just glared at him and shook my head. He didn't even know about Luke, his own brother. I was thoroughly disgusted.

Dumbledore was the last person I saw before the poison reached my heart and I fainted.

When my eyes opened, I knew I wasn't dead. Even the dead do not discover their demise inside a large stone dungeon.

The walls were bare, and around me in a circle there were people. They all wore black robes and various shades of cruelty on their faces. They pointed their wands at me and I knew better than to fight. I sat up to my knees and said: "Why am I here?"

I heard a cold cruel laughter in front of me. I looked up and wished I hadn't.

The man before me could hardly be classified as a man. His face was rather flat, and he had bloodred eyes. His nose, or lack thereof, gave the impression that he was half snake. I recognized him immediately. My brother, Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Before I could speak, he said: "Hello, brother. It has been too long for our meeting. I have a proposition for you."

I snarled. "I won't serve you, Riddle."

He smiled indulgingly. "But I can offer you so much in exchange, Nico. So much. Together we can rule the earth. We can be rid of the traitors of this world. All you need is to take my mark."

This sounded disturbingly like what I was sure Kronos had told Luke.

"I won't do anything for you. I refuse your mark."

He raised an eyebrow and said: "We will see."

I heard somebody behind me say: "Imperio. Take the Dark Mark."

I felt oddly compelled to do so, but I resisted. I couldn't take this mark. I would not turn against my own.

Another said: "Imperio. Take the Dark Mark."

Again, and again, and again. Every time, the need to obey grew stronger, but I resisted.

Seven people. Seven curses and I refused to cave. I knew Riddle was getting impatient. Eventually, he spoke. "Stop."

The need stopped altogether and I felt my self control come crashing back to me.

Voldemort said: "You think you have outwitted me, is that so, boy?"

I didn't answer, but I could hear the smirk in his voice as he said: "Bella, this is your area of expertise."

A heard a woman's cruel laughter.

It was right about then that I realized that I had made a very big mistake.

If I hadn't realized it then, then it was when the woman said: "_Crucio."_

I am no stranger to pain. I've felt worse than most people I know, other than Percy and Annabeth, seeing as they held up the sky. But this was different. It was fire and ice, boundless hatred and cruelty poured into a single spell. There was no source to this pain, only a searing fire that made my blood boil. I couldn't breathe. I writhed on the floor as Bellatrix laughed.

"Please! Stop this! Please!"

Riddle laughed. "You can make it stop. Take my mark and it will stop."

I pleaded a while longer, but his answer was always the same.

I couldn't take it any more. "I'll do it! I'll take the mark if you just make it stop!"

Riddle said: "Bella, does this suit you? What would you have him do for the mark?"

Bellatrix's laugh echoed in my ear and she said: "Beg, little boy. Beg for the Dark Mark, or I will make sure that the pain will never end, even through death."

I screamed as she increased the force of the spell. She stopped to give me time to beg, but I didn't speak. She started again, and again, and again.

It was too much. The fifth time she stopped, I knelt before my brother, holding out my left arm. "Please. I beg of you to make this stop."

"Please what, boy?"

I bit my lip, but I was too weak to resist. "Please… my lord. Give me your mark and end this."

He laughed. "Better. It is good that you finally see sense. Stay as you are. Look, and do not speak."

I whimpered, but did as I was told. I was vaguely ashamed to cave to torture, but it had hurt so much…

I shuddered.

The Death Eaters all raised their wands and a black light shone out of it, forming a sphere of dark light that hovered before me.

All the Death Eaters began to chant.

"_Stigmatis de obscuris, Stigmatis de Mortis, Sigillum de Parcaearum. Stigmatis de obscuris, Stigmatis de Mortis_…" With each string of Latin the sphere grew blacker.

I understood the latin, an incantation that would bind me to the Death Eaters forever.

My arm burned, impossible searing pain as though somebody were pressing a piece of white-hot iron to my skin. This was far worse than the Cruciatus curse. I screamed louder than ever before. Black spots danced around my vision, the edges of my sight tinted red.

I vaguely heard Voldemort say: "I do hope you enjoy your time here, brother dear: I'm afraid you'll be staying a while."

I passed out at those words as the pain became too much to bear. Looking back on it, this was obviously going to happen: My father wouldn't send me on a mission without there being some danger to my life.


	13. In Which Nico Plays Darts

Chapter 13

In Which Nico Plays Darts

Harry's POV

I woke up to the sound of screaming.

This was no longer out of the ordinary. Nico had been in the dormitory for five days already, and he had been screaming for at least half of that. Luna had insisted that he be brought to the dormitories instead of to the hospital wing, and we frankly didn't have the heart to refuse. She spent every minute at his side, point-blank refusing to even leave to go to her classes. She hadn't slept as far as I knew. She ate occasionally, but not much. She was obviously devastated.

Nico had spent the week drifting in and out of consciousness. Luna had been able to tell us much more about what was wrong with him than even Madam Pomfrey, which was strange. She claimed that the poison would either kill him before dawn, or it would drain completely out of his system eventually, assuming that there was an open blood flow for the poison to come out. We'd decided to trust her. I heard her sobbing quietly as she sponged Nico's forehead with a wet cloth and tried to pour some sort of liquid down his throat. I got up and walked to her.

"He's not doing any better?"

She shook her head. "I don't know what to do, Harry. He should have died days ago, or been cured already. I think that something went wrong when he saved my life."

"What did he do anyways?"

Nico abruptly stopped screaming and Luna turned to him immediately, ignoring my question. She took his hand as his eyes slid open. His eyes were clouded, as though behind a veil.

He looked straight at me. "Percy… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to betray you…"

I frowned. "I'm not Percy, Nico. I'm Harry."

He began to tremble, his eyes full of tears. He began to sob. "He made me beg, Percy. He made me beg for it. I said I would rather die… He said he wouldn't let her stop until I begged… I'm so sorry. Please, don't… don't tell Luna."

I felt Luna flinch next to me. "What shouldn't Luna be told?" She asked carefully.

"I betrayed her… I betrayed you. All of our kind… I betrayed them. Please… forgive me. Don't tell Luna. I can't let her know… I didn't want to do what they said, Percy. But it hurt so much… they tortured me… I couldn't hold any longer. He's my brother, Percy. How can I kill my own brother?"

Luna burst into tears. "Nico, please! Fight whatever it is! You're stronger, you always have been…"

I put a hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Luna. He'll wake up fully soon enough."

She looked up at me. "No, that's the problem. He is fully awake. Only mad. I've seen someone die from that poison before… madness isn't one of the symptoms. He's trapped inside his own mind. Something happened right when he fainted… something horrible, and it was enough to drive him insane."

Nico's eyes closed again and he fell into a peaceful sleep. Luna sighed and took his hand, leaning her head against the bedpost. Soon, she was asleep as well.

I sighed. Nico was becoming an increasingly complicated puzzle. I knew that four more people were to come to the school soon enough. They were Nico's friends, and they would come for him. Perhaps they would prove more cooperative. I went back to bed.

When I awoke, I first looked over at Luna. She was fast asleep, her head on the mattress of Nico's bed. Nico's eyes were half open, and he was mumbling something about being sorry again.

I shook Luna awake and said: "You going to come down to breakfast, Luna?"

She looked over at Nico and sighed. "I don't think he's going to get better, Harry…"

She stood. "I won't let myself mourn him. He won't want that."

With that, she walked out of the dormitory and walked towards the Great Hall. I dressed and followed her. She walked morosely over to the Ravenclaw table, directly next to the Gryffindor table.

Neville asked Luna: "How is he?"

She sighed. "No better. He keeps on raving about Percy. It's scary actually. It's like Chris after the Labyrinth the way he kept on yelling about Mary…"

The pair shuddered.

"Who's Chris?" I asked.

Luna and Neville both said: "Nothing." and turned to their food.

I was about to dig in when the doors to the great hall opened with a bang.

Silence fell immediately and everybody looked to the intruders.

There were four of them. In the lead was a boy with messy black hair and haunted sea-green eyes. He looked a bit like me. The way the three others looked to him, I could tell he was the leader. He gripped a ballpoint pen tightly in his hand.

Behind him were three girls. One had curly blonde hair and piercing gray eyes, a lot like Luna's. She was staring straight ahead but I could tell that she was secretly analyzing the room.

The second girl had spiky black hair and electric blue eyes. The air around her seemed to crackle with electricity, radiating power so intense it scared me.

The last girl was a bit smaller than the others. She had long straight black hair that reached her lower waist, completely obscuring the right side of her face. I could see that her eyes were midnight black, with the faintest sparks of stars inside of them. She scared me, although for the life of me I couldn't tell why.

Eventually, Dumbledore asked: "May I ask why you are all here?"

The boy spoke. "We're here for Nico. We need him for…"

"For what?" Asked Dumbledore.

The girl with blonde hair said: "For the issue that you appear to have left unattended in your rather hasty disappearance, of course. Somebody has to take the job when it's abandoned, and it is my personal experience that wars definitely don't fight themselves."

Dumbledore frowned. "I'm afraid that that is not a valid reason. You may leave now."

The girl in back said: "Professor, you know what we're talking about. Don't make us use force."

Next to me, Luna stood and walked to the girl with blonde hair. They looked at each other for a second, and Luna began to cry again, hugging the slightly older girl. She hugged back until Luna stopped crying.

She wasted no time in asking: "Luna, what's wrong with Nico?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. He's raving, thinks that everybody's Percy, says that he betrayed us… and I don't know how."

The girl sighed. "Luna, pain is a distraction. Let go of it. Focus on the details. Forget the emotional characteristics and tell me about his physical wounds."

Luna nodded and took a deep breath. Her voice was cold and distant as she spoke. "He used old magic to save me from Kampe's poison, but it refuses to kill him. He is showing uncommon side effects and the poison does not appear to be bleeding out as it should."

"And the rest?" Asked the boy.

"When we are in a less public place." Completed the smaller girl. "Can you take us to Nico, Lu?"

She nodded. "Follow me. Harry, you need to come here too."

I knew better than to argue. A shattered Luna wasn't somebody who you wanted to mess with. I stood, but we found our way out of the hall blocked by an angry Draco.

He was glaring straight at the smaller girl. "Lou Ellen. I thought it was clear that you weren't to come back. You can leave now, or I reveal your little secret."

Lou Ellen laughed so evilly it would have made even Voldemort jealous. "Draco, my secret is out. It was out the day I was expelled. Now, I have business to attend to, and I am going to have to ask you to move out of the way before I have to make you."

Draco didn't move.

She laughed. "Draco, I'm disappointed. How… _Gryffindor_ of you. Unfortunately, I am a Slytherin. You swore the same oath as me. I have your back and I always did. You have no right to turn against your family, and you don't scare me. I'm offering you one more time. Move, Draco. I'm not here to hurt anybody this time, and I…" She trailed off for a second before saying: "Don't make me hurt one of my own, Draco. All I want is Nico. There is a war to fight, and it can't be won without him."

Draco nodded. "Glad you didn't forget the family values in all those years. May Slytherin house favor you."

Lou smiled at Draco and nodded. Her fingers twitched like she wanted to hug the boy in front of her, but she didn't budge. She turned to everybody else and sighed sadly. "I'm sorry, everybody. I really hope you live, or Nico's father will have my head."

With that, Luna and the four others set off. I followed them discreetly. Lou turned around one more time and waved her hand at the doors of the Great hall. They slammed shut and locked into place. "Did you just lock them into the great hall?" I asked carefully.

She nodded. "I hate having to hurt people, but if they follow me, I won't hesitate. This is for their own good."

The boy said: "Lou, what's wrong? You're never like this. You practically stopped his heart, and you threatened to kill him. What's with you and this place?"

She sighed. "Hogwarts just gets to me. I spent my first year here, then promptly got expelled because one of my spells went wrong. I was practicing in the Forbidden Forest, and there were these two second years that ran at me, and the spell hit them. They died on impact. I never used the spell again."

Everybody sighed and nodded. I wondered if death was a normal occurrence for them.

After a moment of silence, we reached the Gryffindor dormitory. I said the password and everybody clambered through the portrait. We walked towards the boys dormitories. The second we began to open a door, we closed it again and looked at our side. A blade of black iron stuck clean through the door. Either Nico was being more insane than usual, or he had just found the coolest game of darts ever.


	14. In Which Lou is a Valuable Asset

Chapter 14

In Which Lou is a Valuable Asset

Nico's POV

Being insane is _not_ fun. You're trapped in your worst thoughts, reliving them over and over again. You know that this isn't normal, but you can't stop it. It's really scary. I was reliving the dark mark over and over again, hearing Voldemort laugh around me. When I'd woken up, My nerves were on edge. I'd immediately put on my robes, seeing as they covered my dark mark perfectly. So, when I heard the door open, I threw my knife. The door shut immediately, opening in a few seconds. Percy. I'd forgotten about him.

"Nico, are you okay?"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry Percy, but you have to get out of here. I know what I said, but… recent developments. I have reason to believe that the war is coming sooner than you think. I have to stay here to finish the job I've been given, but you have to go home. All of you."

They argued for a second, but I won. I always did.

Suddenly, Lou Ellen said: "I'm staying."

I gaped at her. "Lou, please! You don't understand."

She shook her head and stepped closer. She said: "I am in the same situation as you, Nico. I can stay here."

She touched my arm fleetingly, and my mark tingled. I understood that she was in the same position as me. She was a death eater. Wonderful.

She turned to Percy and the gang. "You guys, go. Here."

She took a talisman from her necklace. "This will transport you back to camp. It will only work once, so don't try to come back. Without my help, you won't find your way here. Don't try to find us."

They frowned. "Lou, what's going on?"

Lou shook her head. "End of discussion. Go. You have twenty seconds before I get angry."

They gulped and nodded. In seconds, hey had vanished.

She turned to me. "You're an ass, do you know that? Severing your soul like that? I _specifically_ told you never, _ever_ to use that spell! What were you thinking? You tore your soul from your body? And for what?"

I glared at her. "For Luna's life. I know what I did and I was aware of the consequences. Now, if you don't mind, I want to go wallow in death and despair."

Lou frowned pensively at me for a second before grabbing me by the arm. "Come on. It's time for you to meet Slytherin house."

Before I could protest, she was dragging me out of the dormitory.

I followed her, still weak from my ordeal. I followed her down to the dungeons, strangely past the Slytherin dormitories. We delved deeper and deeper, down a vaguely familiar path until we reached a dead end.

The last dungeon was large, empty save an archway and the sign of Hades.

"The house of lies…" I murmured.

Lou laughed. "No, not really. It's a commonly misconstrued word. All of Slytherin house knows about this. We call it the house of lies, but apparently it was just the Slytherins at the time looking for a cool rhyme. Ironically, we're not allowed to lie when inside it. It would be like betraying our family. Anyways, this is the entrance to the common room. We moved it after a security breach in my first year. I'm the one who found this place. It's a long story. But, most of Slytherin house should be there by now. You'll learn everything you need to know. Just let me do the talking until we get in."

I nodded and she held her hand up to the light flickering from the hole in the ceiling. I saw a silver ring on her finger with a sort of mirror set into the top. It reflected the light and shone on the sign of Hades.

I didn't expect what happened next.

A voice from nowhere called out: "Who seeks entrance to the house of lies?"

Lou silenced me with a look and called out: "I am Lou Ellen Jones, Blood magician and Death Eater. I am a part of the family."

Then, I heard the single thing I didn't expect the entrance to the Slytherin common room to say.

"Welcome Home."


	15. In Which Nico Gets A Family

Chapter 15

In Which Nico Gets a Family

Nico's POV

The Slytherin common room was not what I expected. I had thought it would be something austere and foreboding, but it was warm and happy, with large, plushy armchairs and a crackling fire. Still, silence fell as I entered behind Lou. They didn't seem to have a Problem with Lou, who sat down and began a whispered conversation with a sixth year girl. The Slytherins tried to stare me down, but they had nothing on my father.

Eventually, a third-year spoke up. "Why is _he_ here? He's a _Gryffindor_."

Lou eyed the boy sternly. "He's one of us. I brought him here because he's branded the same as most of us."

Everybody gazed at me. I stood there nervously. I hate being judged.

Before anybody could speak, the stone archway behind me began to slide open once again. A little boy walked through, probably a first year. He was crying. Immediately, a few seventh years rushed over to him.

Even Lou, who had never seen the boy in her life, asked: "What's wrong?"

The little boy sniffled and said: "The Gryffindors said that all Slytherins are evil. I don't want to be evil. You're not evil… right?"

Nobody had an answer to that.

I decided to prove myself at least to not be a normal Gryffindor. "Nobody's evil, kid. People just make bad decisions. Next time somebody says that, you tell them that at least a Slytherin will help fix what they broke. It's more than I can say for most Gryffindors I know."

Another girl spoke up. "He's right. The Gryffindors screw things up and they leave the Slytherins to clean up the mess."

The little boy looked up at me and said: "Aren't you a Gryffindor?"

I shrugged. "I'd much rather be a Slytherin."

Everybody looked at me with a big smile and Lou said: "He's one of us. Nico, tell them the story. What really happened when you were insane."

My eyes widened. "Lou, are you crazy?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not. I'm not insane, I'm mental. Look, almost all of us are branded. Some more willingly than others, but that's beside the point. You can trust us. Here, everybody has your back. We're a family."

I outright glared at her. "Bianca was family, Lou. All my family ends up dead or insane. I wouldn't exactly wish that on too many people."

Lou got up off her armchair and walked over to me. She looked me straight in the face and said: "But some people are ready to take the risks. They know everything. All of my secrets. They know about the gods. They know about the differences between my magic and theirs. In fact, several of us are demigods. Trust me, they can handle this."

I frowned. "You told them about the gods?"

She nodded. I nodded thoughtfully and said: "All right, you win."

There were scattered cheers and Lou brought me to a couch. She sat down next to me. I took a deep breath and began. "After I fainted, I woke up in a dungeon, with Voldemort and everybody there. All the higher death eaters. Voldemort wanted me to take the mark."

I continued my story. Every time I said 'Voldemort', everybody flinched. They were hanging on to my every word as I described the Imperius curse, and I was trembling in fear as I talked about Bellatrix's Cruciatus.

When I was done, a third year girl moved up next to me and said: "We're all sorry that you had to do that. Most of us caved at the first or second Imperius. We wouldn't go so far as to even try to withstand Bellatrix's Torture."

I drew a shaky breath and said: "Wait… all of you are Death Eaters?"

The girl shrugged. "Most of us. We're usually recruited around the summer before third year. Some of us join earlier, some later. It depends on how badly he wants us."

As if on cue, people began to bare their left arms.

It was true. Nearly everybody years three and up had the hateful mark branded on their arm.

"And this doesn't bother you at all? Serving him?"

They all shrugged. "Yeah, it does. It's wrong, what he makes us do. He wants us to destroy Hogwarts, but that's our home. We can't do that. So we're making a resistance. We'll take down the Dark Lord from within, where he'll never suspect us. Nearly none of us are truly faithful to him. We're only faithful to each other. One family, Slytherin house. We are bound to each other. Here, we always know that somebody has our back no matter what.

A seventh year girl spoke up. "Yeah. Anyhow, we heard a rumor that you were the Dark Lord's son. Is it true?"

The look on my face must have been funny, because most of Slytherin house burst out laughing. And I was right along with them.

Eventually, when we were over our laughter, I said: "No. It's… complicated…"

Lou said: "They know about the gods, Nico. You can tell them."

I sighed and bit my lip. Would they accept this? Would I come so close to a real, caring family and lose it with this simple fact?

But I couldn't lie. I know enough about lies to know that they always come back to bite me. So I sighed and looked down.

"My father is Hades, god of the dead."

They waited with bated breath and I took a deep breath before saying:

"My father had several children other than myself. He had my sister Bianca, who raised me after our mother died. But many years before that, he had another son."

I took a deep breath. "He fell in love with a mortal witch named Merope Gaunt. He abandoned her after a while. I suppose he got tired of her. She died giving birth to his son. She named him Tom, after the alias that my father took when he first met her."

I took a deep breath again, swallowed hard, and said: "The boy's name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. Lord Voldemort is my brother."

Dead silence. The place could have been empty.

Then, Draco Malfoy stood and walked up to me. He held out his left hand. I shook it. My mark stung slightly when he touched it.

He looked into my face for a second before saying:

"Nico DiAngelo, welcome to Slytherin house."


	16. In Which Nico is in Trouble Again

**I know, it's really really short, but I've got a bit of a writer's block. Thanks for all the virtual band-aids!**

**(For all those of you that didn't know how to make one, it goes like this:**

**(::II::)**

**110 reviews! You guys make me so happy!  
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**So, here's the chapter!**

Chapter 16

In Which Nico is in Trouble Again

Harry's POV

It was midnight and Nico still wasn't back. He had left somewhere with Lou Ellen and hadn't returned.

In the meantime, I asked Luna about Lou.

"She's a really wonderful girl. A particularly gifted witch. I have yet to see a single spell she can't do. She knows everything there is to know about spellwork, from charms to dark arts."

"Dark arts?" I asked carefully.

Luna nodded. "You know how all wizards and witches have an affinity?"

I shook my head. "No, what's an affinity?"

Luna's eyes got a bit far away as she explained. "An affinity is a specialty of sorts. The magic the wizard is meant to do. Most wizards don't find their affinity until they're of age, but Lou has always known it. Her affinity is Blood Magic. That was banned by the ministry of magic about a century after the founders' time, but she was born with it. Its use is punishable by a life sentence in Askaban. So naturally, she's an outlaw. And it's not her fault."

I frowned. "Why did they ban it then?"

She shrugged. "People fear what they can't understand. Blood magic can be used for horrible things, too. Blood magic can cause deaths far more painful than even the Cruciatus curse. It can be a horrible thing, but Nico used Blood Magic to save my life from that poison. He used his blood to heal mine, drawing the poison into himself, then he severed his soul from his body to allow his body to get rid of the poison. That's why he went a bit mad. His soul was trying to get back."

I frowned. This business about souls was strange and complicated.

Before I could ask another question, the door open and Nico walked in. His skin was slightly less pale than usual, his eyes bright with something akin to happiness.

"Where were you?"

Nico answered my question without hesitation. "Slytherin House."

"Slytherin house? You were in Slytherin house? That's not allowed! How did you sneak in?"

He sighed. "I didn't sneak in. I was invited. Lou let me in and I spent the whole evening with them. I like them."

Like them? How could he like a Slytherin? "They're Death Eaters, the lot of them! I mean…"

Then it hit me. Death Eaters. Slytherin house. The sorting hat screaming… It all made sense.

Nico DiAngelo was on a mission, he'd said so himself.

Nico DiAngelo was here to kill me.

I closed my mouth and nodded once in acknowledgement before turning around and going to bed. With a bit of luck, this would all be a bad dream.


	17. In Which Neville Gets Promoted

**Ok, people, I have to tell you that I'm taking a vacation to France now, and so this is going to be the only update for 2 weeks! I'm updating from the airport right now. I might be able to squeeze in one or two updates if I can scrounge up enough money to visit the Web-House, but no promises.  
>Please review! Tell me what you want to see happen in this story, and I'll try to put it in!<br>**

Chapter 17

In Which Neville is Promoted

Nico's POV

I went to sleep soon after Harry, wondering why he'd had that strange dread in his eyes.

Somehow, I couldn't fall asleep. I kept on wondering how long I could keep up my front. It was obvious now that I was not normal, and people would naturally suspect the worst.

Perhaps, if I acknowledged the worst, they would trust me more.

I cursed my father's words. _"You must not suffer them to trust you, understand? You must not allow them to think that your intentions are pure."_

Well, that worked. They definitely didn't trust me.

Still, I didn't have an alias. If my personality was so all over the place, people would try to find out my secrets, and I wasn't as good at keeping secrets as my heritage suggested.

I looked over the day, thinking about everything I had shown them and what I could still keep to myself.

Necromancy and umbrakenisis:

That could simply mean that I was a dark wizard. I could figure something out for that. Simply saying that it was my affinity (Which it was) could definitely work.

Dark mark:

Just don't show it to anybody.

Weapons:

They teach it at my camp. The more secretive I am about camp, the more suspicious they will be.

I made a mental note to talk to all the half-bloods I knew here: Luna, Neville, and Lou Ellen. They could back me up.

I wondered what I could do. If things had to unravel, they would unravel my way.

Perhaps…

No…

Wait, yes!

Lord Voldemort.

The rumors.

It made sense.

I would pretend to be the son of Lord Voldemort.

This was going to work.

I could feel it.

Step one: Dreams. That was most important. Having creepy dreams always makes people suspicious.

Still, I decided to not bother. Knowing me, my father would send me a message anyways, and I'd probably be screaming in my sleep.

I still didn't understand why this was so important. Wouldn't it be easier for them to trust me? I could get my mission done much easier. I decided to ask when I next saw my father.

That was the last thing that crossed my mind that night before I fell asleep.

Strangely enough, I didn't dream that night.

I didn't dream the night after. Or the night after.

I didn't have any dreams all week. That made no sense.

I was becoming increasingly less suspicious.

That wouldn't do at all.

Strangely enough, it turned out that I didn't need a dream.

Because Neville, son of Ceres, had a secret.

He was gone one day, a Saturday. I couldn't find him anywhere. I wondered what was wrong, but wisely held my tongue.

He hadn't returned that night, but mysteriously appeared in the morning at breakfast. He looked disheveled and exhausted, but he was positively beaming. I saw the marks when he was reaching over my plate to pass Harry the marmalade.

I only saw some of it, just poking out of his cloak sleeve. Small markings on his wrist, going back down his arm.

I paused and looked up at Neville.

"Hey, Nev?"

He looked at me happily. "Yeah? What is it, Nico?"

"Lemme see your arm."

He raised an eyebrow confusedly. "I don't know what you're talking about, Nico."

I rolled my eyes. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Your right arm."

I grabbed his arm and pulled up his sleeve, soliciting an annoyed 'Hey!' From Neville.

I was right. On his right arm was a series of tattoos. No, not tattoos, brands. At his wrist, an SPQR over a glyph, like a scythe with a bar crossing the bottom. A single tally mark adorned the space below it.

The _probatio_ tablet around my neck felt suddenly heavy. I'd accepted the damned thing because it was the only way to get into New Rome and past Terminus, but it was still used as a sign of shame, as Octavian never ceased reminding me.

I knew I could never join the legion. I didn't have a problem with that. I didn't work for anybody but my father, but I'd known about the legion for three years and still had to wear the stupid lead tablet.

Still, I was proud of Neville. I looked up at his face and my eyes passed over his shirt, where I noticed something else.

A small crown design was pinned to his rust-red shirt. The crown was made of pure gold.

I gaped at it for a second before asking Neville: "The gold crown? How did you get one of those?"

Neville suddenly looked uneasy. "Well…"

It hit me like a charging bulletproof elephant. "There was a battle yesterday, wasn't there?"

Neville looked down sheepishly. "I couldn't tell you… they wanted you. You would have come, and everybody would have died for no reason."

I glared at him. "You let yourself almost get killed to save my sorry life, Nev? That was the single stupidest thing I have ever heard in my life!"

Neville glared. "I don't regret a thing. It gave me my rank. I've been promoted to centurion. I've been given the gold crown. I accepted this. Deal with it, Nico."

He stood up and walked away. I turned back to my food, grumbling about stupid self-sacrificing Romans.


	18. In Which Lou Makes a Point

Sorry for the long wait pplz, but I'm bak in the country and up to go, so things'll be better now!

Chapter 18

In Which Lou Makes a Point

Harry's POV

Nico's nightmares were getting worse.

Every night now, he would be screaming, sobbing, begging for the pain to stop, or begging for his sister's life.

And every time, I noticed, Neville would turn over and mutter a silencing spell sleepily before falling asleep again.

One day, I asked him about it. "Why do you keep on silencing him like that?"

He sat up a bit and said: "Well, we all need our sleep, and it's useless to wake him up. He won't be able to until his dream is completely over. That's just the way it works. So, I'd rather silence him before he wastes all our nights as well."

I frowned. "Neville, why are you so friendly with him? I mean, he's a dark wizard! He's a shadow being… He's the son of Lord Voldemort!

Neville flinched. "What gave you that idea?"

I rolled my eyes. Was Neville really that naïve? "The dark destroying spell went for him instead of the shadow-thing in Snape's class. He's a necromancer, and he's a master at umbrakenisis. He keeps on saying things about his father, and then shuts up like his father should be kept a secret. From what I've gathered, his father's awful, and Nico got all his powers from him. Isn't that proof enough?"

Neville actually looked angry. I'd never seen him angry. "Look here, Harry. Nico is not evil. It's not his fault that he has his powers. He was born to them, just like Lou Ellen was born to blood magic and I was born to herbology. He can't choose what he does, and I think that it's a good thing he does what his father tells him to, because if he didn't, he would probably be killed. And as dark as he is, we need him to live, because if he doesn't, Voldemort really won't die. He is the bravest person I have ever met, and he is my _friend_."

"You never told me that his father wasn't Voldemort."

He frowned and shrugged. "There's a saying that says: 'The sins of the father shall not be carried out upon the son.' I can't judge him unless he does something evil on his own."

"He's been assigned to kill me! What other proof do you want?"

Neville raised an eyebrow. "Do you have proof that that's his mission? No. You don't. Nico's smarter than that. Go to bed, Harry. I won't give, and neither will you. This is going nowhere."

I didn't go to bed though. I took out a piece of paper that had been in the Daily Prophet.

It was a warrant for anybody suspected in Death Eater activities.

It was time for Nico to spill his secret.

I folded the paper up carefully and put it under my pillow. No use waking up the Headmaster. It was impossible anyways. I wouldn't be able to get in.

I fell asleep, ignoring the sounds of Nico writhing on his bed.

The next morning, I got up and put the warrant in my bag. Nico's bed was empty, but he always got up early. It was nothing strange. I walked down to breakfast to talk to Ron and Hermione about my plan.

I slid down next to them, ignoring everybody else.

"We have to turn Nico in. He has more magic than us, he could kill us before we raised a wand. We should let the others take care of it. He'll go to Askaban for sure, then we won't have to worry about him."

Hermione smiled at me. "Harry, that's a great idea! The auror department will be able to take care of him wonderfully. When should we do it?"

I shrugged. "The sooner the better, really. Let's do it this afternoon. We'll send Hedwig to the Auror department with this warrant and a letter."

Hermione smiled and nodded, and Ron did as well. I looked over at Neville, who was talking animatedly to Nico, who had a vaguely panicked look on his face. I decided to listen in.

"-Die! Our numbers are too low, especially on your end. We've lost fifty since the beginning of this war, and you've lost twenty-five. We've each lost a quarter of our numbers, Nico! We can't hold out much longer."

Nico sighed heavily. "If all else fails, the citizens will fight."

"They already are."

"Then we'll call for aid of the gods and anybody else we can get on our side. We have the furies and hellhounds at least, and I can probably get the thestrals. We have Cyclopes and centaurs on our side as well. That has to count for something."

Neville nodded. "But the monsters still won't die, Nico. The doors may be closed, but Gaia still controls them."

Nico slumped. "I know. It's driving Thanatos insane. The monsters are leaving Tartarus too soon. At least the dead humans are staying dead. Still, if I never have a run-in with Kampe again, it'll be too late."

He grinned. "You and me both. Just pray that they never get a hold of Hagrid: They'll have even more monsters in their arsenal. The acromantulas alone will be able to kill most of us off," He laughed a bit, "and that's nothing compared to the blast-ended skrewts."

Nico shuddered. "Let's stay off that subject please."

I made up my mind. I took out the flyer and filled out the form:

Name: Nico DiAngelo

Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Position in Death Eater Ranks: Most likely Inner-circle

Reason for position: Necromancer, Umbrakenisis master, Son of Lord Voldemort

I folded up the paper and got up, closely followed by Hermione and Ron. We walked over to the owlry and attached it to a brown barn-owl that belonged to the school. I wasn't going to risk Hedwig on something like this.

We watched it fly away and Ron spoke up: "Well, I think this was a good idea. That way, Harry stays alive and maybe we won't wake up to Nico screaming every night. Still, he hasn't been doing it in a while. Why not?"

"Neville's been silencing him every night. He says it's no use waking him up, so he may as well."

Hermione frowned. "I wonder what he was dreaming about. I mean, what can he really have gone through? Sure, You-know-who must have tortured him a bit, but I don't think that's all."

Ron and I shrugged simultaneously.

The owlry door opened and Lou Ellen walked in.

I got my first good look at her face. It was a bit strange, really. Her long black hair covered the whole of the left half of her face. People had been wondering about that, what was on her face that she wanted to hide, and the ideas that had been suggested were each as idiotic as the last.

She looked at us with sadness and disappointment in her eye. "How could you do that to Nico?"

Hermione spoke up. "Do what?"

She laughed shortly for a second, then stepped closer to Hermione with only the slightest of threats in her voice. "Smart people like yourself don't have the luxury of playing dumb, Granger. Luna saw everything and told me. You just sold out Nico. You don't know what you're getting into."

I had a lot of smart comebacks for that, but all that left my mouth was "You didn't call her mudblood."

She frowned. "I don't think like that. Besides, magic is likely stronger with a Muggle born, since they're the first to have the gift rather than receiving it second hand."

Ron looked at her like she had suddenly grown a second head. "How can you say that and still be in Slytherin?"

"Where I come from, _family_ is what'simportant," she said slowly, apparently weighing each word before she said it, "I've seen people die for insulting somebody's parentage. My brother was killed because he insulted my fifth cousin's father. Me…"

She took a deep breath and slipped a finger under the curtain of dark hair that covered her face. "I was a lucky one."

She pulled the hair aside, and I suddenly saw why she kept it covered. Her right eye had been messily gouged out, the socket clearly mangled.

She made no move to cover it before saying: "I insulted my mother. I was young and foolish. I said she didn't care, that she only wanted me as a weapon and not a daughter," She laughed dryly, "I was a fool to insult my own family like that."

"So she gouged out your eye?"

Lou Ellen looked horrified. "What? Never! Mother wouldn't do that!"

She chuckled slightly before saying: "She hates to get her hands dirty. No, she made me do it on my own, naturally. Most of Slytherin house gets into trouble like this."

She frowned for a second before saying: "I want you to do something for me."

"What?"

"Observe Slytherin house. Don't spy on them or anything, but look at them. See how they work together. All three other houses gang up on us because we're supposedly evil. That's why family is so important to us. We're all a family. No matter where we go, Slytherin has our back. That's what matters most. Think about it."

With that, she turned around and walked away.

Ron looked at us and said: "She's crazier than Luna."

We all nodded somberly before setting off to Divination class.


	19. In Which Nico Gets a Most Pleasant Gift

Chapter 19

In Which Nico Gets A most Pleasant Surprise

Nico's POV

Divination class was uneventful. Trelawney seemed torn between predicting my death or Harry's, so it was rather amusing to see what she came up with.

After divination came Transfiguration and double History of Magic. I thought I was going to die of boredom.

I was back in the common room when Atropos flew in through the window, barely flying as it dragged in a large leather trunk

"_Message, my lord. Your father greets you as well."_

I smiled confusedly. What kind of message was this anyways? Still, I shrugged. _"Thank you, Atropos. I'll take it from here."_

Atropos cawed wearily and flew away towards the owlry.

I frowned at the package for a long time, wondering what the chances were the Stoll brothers had set it up as a prank, then finally shrugged and opened it.

Most of Gryffindor house was in the common room, and I couldn't help but wonder why these things always happened when everybody was there to watch.

In the trunk I saw a series of objects of various shapes and sizes, all wrapped in silky black cloth and tied in shiny black ribbon. I thought it looked awesome.

I saw one object that wasn't black and picked it up.

It was a yellowish business envelope. Nothing special.

First thing to know when you're a demigod: If it's nothing special, it's probably going to explode.

I opened it carefully, closing my eyes at first, but when nothing happened, I opened my eyes and took out the contents.

There was a letter, a picture, a camp bead, and a silver ring.

I read through the letter quickly.

_Nico,_

_Hey Neeks! Yeah, I know, you hate it when I call you that. Oh well. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday, since you probably forgot about it as usual. You've gotten popular since the Titan War! Most of the veterans have presents for you. They're all in here. Well, except for the Stoll Brothers, who say to warn you that it'll be an explosive surprise. I should warn you, they've been working on something called 'bomb messaging'. Just a tip._

_The ring is for you, obviously. It's blessed by my father, so that way you can go into the water without fear. Or that's what dad said anyways, but knowing him, I'm not too sure. Oh well. _

_I also wanted you to have the picture. I noticed that all us Titan War veterans have one, except for you, and you were one of our best. It's not fair for you. So, I wanted to give you the picture we took after Kronos' defeat in front of the Empire state building._

_You weren't there for the end of summer, so I'm sending you the camp bead, since I didn't have time to give it to you before. Annabeth is still mad at you and Lou Ellen for sending her off like that. She'll be getting back to you eventually, but I'm trying to stop her. I swear!_

_Anyways, I hope you like the gifts. We all miss you, I guess, and we need you for the Battles._

_On a more depressing note, Annabeth says to give you the numbers (Or what we have left anyways):_

_12th Legion Fulminata: 192_

_Camp Half-Blood: 54_

_I know, kind of depressing. We've lost a lot, and so have the legion. There was a big battle a few days ago, but Neville (He's a centurion now, did you know?) said that he couldn't let you come. Something about how it would make the enemy harder to defeat._

_Well, Happy Birthday and all that, and to a better birthday after that, when the war is over. (Assuming either of us live that long.)_

_Bye,_

_Percy Jackson_

I smiled and took off my camp necklace, ignoring the lead tablet and sliding on the bead.

It was white with a legion emblem on it, probably to represent the uniting of the two camps.

I wondered if the next year's bead would have my name on it, as one of those who had died in the war against Gaia.

I took my thoughts from this and fastened my necklace again before putting the ring on my right hand.

I ignored the Gryffindors and looked into the trunk with my birthday presents.

I'd never actually had any birthday presents before. I wasn't even sure how Percy knew my birthday, but it was nice that so many people cared.

I smiled and started to unwrap them carefully, being sure not to rip the awesome black fabric.

I got A pre-gift of candy from the Stolls, a note from Katie Gardener about what those candies did to you, (including making your head blow to epic proportions and burst 'for stuck-up enemies only'), and an actual asphodel plant in a pot of black rock. I smiled at it and plucked off a leaf, watching it turn to ash in my fingers.

Annabeth got me a knife, which I thought was really nice, only I already owned about three of them.

The Hephaestus cabin made me an unbelievably awesome model bronze dragon, with a cheerful note that it stunk that I'd missed it before it got blown up by that bitch of a goddess Kihone. At least I got to see it as the figurehead for the Argo II.

The Ares cabin naturally got me only a note saying that I'd better be there for the final battle or they'd make the Minotaur look like a baby goat. I got the feeling they weren't kidding.

I got some other gifts from other campers, and even if I didn't particularly like them, it was nice that they cared.

Eventually, Ron asked: "Hey, DiAngelo, what's in the trunk?"

I looked up at him. "I'm not too sure. According to the letters, it's my birthday. Wait a second…"

I reached the bottom of the trunk and jumped back about three feet as a bolt of green shot straight up and hit the chandelier, effectively transforming it into a daisy.

"And that," I said, breathing heavily, "Was a gift from my demented stepmother Persephone. She's got a herbology complex and seems to find it amusing to turn me into dandelions or daisies."

The Gryffindors snickered. I glared at them.

I suddenly became aware of an Iris message in the bottom of the trunk.

_Please insert one drachma._

I shrugged and dug around in my pockets until I found one. I tossed it in. "O Iris, show me what you need to show me."

It was Lou Ellen.

She took one look at me, and I understood.

I'd been sold out.

"Thanks, Lou. I get it."

She nodded and broke through the connection.

I looked over at Potter and shook my head. "Things are never what they seem, Potter. You should learn to think before you act."

That said, I levitated my things and went back to my room, casting a silencing ward around my bed before falling asleep.


	20. In Which Nico Gets Carted Off

Chapter 20

In Which Nico Gets Carted Off

Harry's POV

When I awoke, I trooped down to breakfast with my friends, spirits high. "This is it. Today, Nico gets carted off to Askaban."

Somehow, Lou's warning kept flashing in my head, but I ignored it. What could go wrong?

Walking through the corridors, we saw some Slytherins in a dark corner. I remembered that Lou had said to observe them. Oh, what the heck? Why not? We set off to spy on –I mean observe- them.

I had never really paid attention to either girl before. One was bronze-skinned with golden eyes and dark brown hair, while the other had pale skin and black hair.

The black haired girl spoke. "Sandry, where have you been? I couldn't find you yesterday."

Sandry smiled. "I was in Hogsmeade getting a gift for Lou Ellen. I heard it was her birthday soon."

Wow, another birthday? Wasn't Nico's yesterday? That's funny.

"When?" Replied the other girl.

"Four days. Check out what I got her."

Sandry took something out of her pocket. It looked like a person, but it was made of wood and iron.

"It's a clockwork practice dummy. She can enlarge it or shrink it at will. It can even shoot spells."

The other girl laughed. "I got her another amulet. I mean, what can you get the girl who can do everything?"

Sandry sobered suddenly. "She can't do everything, Briar."

Briar stopped short. "What?"

Sandry re-iterated. "If she could do everything, she would heal her eyes. If she could do anything, she wouldn't have to use her magic to do everything. Can't you see it? She's dying from the inside out. She's only alive for the war, and then she's just going to give up. The best we can do for her now is just give her little things that will help her feel like she's worth living."

Briar sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's easy to forget that her life is so awful. She puts on such a brave face. I think she'll like the amulet though. It keeps away the monsters."

Sandry smiled. "I'm sure she'll love it. Come on, let's go to breakfast. Did you hear Malfoy and Parkinson had another row?"

And they left, gossiping like they hadn't just said anything about Lou. Oddly, Hermione was the first to speak. "They should just get her an eyepatch."

"What?"

"Look at her hair. She can't do anything with it because it has to cover her eye. If she has an eyepatch, she can fix that. It'll help her feel pretty at the very least. That way, maybe she won't do… whatever those girls said."

Ron frowned. "Why are you interested in them anyways? They're Slytherins."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Ronald. They may be Slytherins, but that doesn't mean that they have to die, either. It's not like an eyepatch is the end of the world. Come on, let's go to breakfast."

We nodded soberly and set off.

At breakfast, we ate in silence, waiting for the Aurors. Nico wasn't talking, but I supposed he had good reason.

"Do you think they're coming? I mean, it's only been a day. I don't know if they got the owl yet."

For all answer, the doors of the great hall opened with a bang. In walked two Aurors in their robes, wands drawn.

"There you go," I muttered, "They're here."

The three Aurors were familiar; Mad-Eye moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Tonks.

Mad-Eye stalked up to Nico and said: "Nico DiAngelo, you are under arrest for-"

"Suspected participation or other involvement in Death Eater activities, use of dark magic, and whatever else you think I did wrong. Can we get this over with, please?"

I heard Tonks chuckle slightly. "I like him."

Moody didn't look very happy about Nico's interruption, but grabbed Nico's arm to drag him up. Nico yanked his arm away. "I can get up on my own. Hold on, I want to say goodbye to my friends before you drag me off to wherever I'm going."

He turned to Luna. "Lu, I need you to IM Chiron. I don't care how he does it, but I need backup, preferably somebody like Annabeth so that I don't get killed by these idiots," He gestured to the Aurors, who looked mildly offended.

He turned to Neville. "You'll be the best Centurion there ever was. Don't forget the cereal."

Neville groaned, "Not you too…"

Nico turned to the Aurors. "All right, let's get this over with."

Moody and Shacklebolt grabbed Nico's arms, and he tore away, walking calmly in front of them, apparently with no plan whatsoever to get away. "I can walk, you know."

Moody grumbled, but otherwise remained silent.

The four people walked out, and the doors slammed behind him. I barely noticed the venomous glare that Neville was shooting me, or most of the Slytherins. However, I saw Luna sighing and shaking her head. She turned to us. "This is why none of you are in Ravenclaw."


	21. In Which Nico Makes an Ally

Chapter 21

In Which Nico Makes an Ally

Nico's POV

I walked calmly in front of the Aurors until we were out of Hogwarts. I had immediately decided that the black guy was too stiff, the guy with the wooden leg and bionic eye was creepy, awesome, and very deadly, and the girl with pink hair was really, really, cool.

The guy with the wooden leg turned to me as soon as we were out of the castle. "No funny business, Lad. I'm going to apparate you straight to your cell."

I glared. "No trial?"

The other guy spoke up. "No, you get a trial. We're putting you in a containment cell until then. You'll be under a full-time guard, since you're apparently a necromancer, which means that you can't be held by Dementors."

"Damn right I can't. Just go ahead, I'm tired of standing around."

The man with the wooden leg grabbed my arm and I had the oddest sensation of _flipping_ before I reappeared in a stone cell.

With a barred window and bars for doors.

"Wow. Classic prison look. I like it."

The three didn't answer me. Wood-leg turned to the punk lady and said "Nymphadora, you're on guard duty. Don't let him escape."

Nymphadora (What kind of a name is _Nymphadora_?) glared. "I said don't call me Nymphadora. And you can count on me."

She stepped out of the cell and the two others vanished.

The woman turned to me. "Wotcher. I'm Tonks, your guard."

I shrugged. "Nico DiAngelo, your prisoner."

She shrugged and sat down next to the cell doors.

We sat silently for a while. I looked around me. There wasn't much, but I didn't mind it. (If you've ever been to Hades, you won't mind either.) I reached in my pocket and took out a rubber ball, sitting down on the bench and bouncing it against the wall. It made a satisfying rhythmic sound as it hit the floor, then the wall, then flew back to my hand.

Eventually, Tonks spoke up. "You hungry, Nico?"

I shrugged. "I guess. I hadn't noticed though."

The woman smiled and slid a tray through the bars. At least it was real food. I took it gladly and began to eat.

As I ate, she talked. "So you're Voldemort's son?"

I decided not to lie to this lady. I liked her. She was cool.

I chuckled. "What kind of a name is Voldemort, anyways? Real evil people don't need a fake name to be feared. And why make it so that people are scared to say the name? It kind of defeats the purpose of making one."

Tonks frowned. "I suppose your right. So, you're not his son then?"

I shrugged. "No, of course not. But I'm going to have to say I am," Maybe she could get me out of this.

She frowned. "Why is that?"

I looked up at her. "What do you know about the American magical world?"

She shook her head. "I didn't know there was one."

I nodded. "Exactly. We're all related through blood in America. I can't say who my father is, because that would jeopardize the whole of North America. I can't risk that. So, I'll have to make something up. What did my father say? Oh yeah, a 'suitable alias'. And technically, my father is a dark lord. He's dark and a lord. He's just not evil."

Tonks looked suddenly very confused. "I don't follow you, mate."

I shrugged. "I would be surprised if you did. I'll be getting backup soon. If they show up before the trial, I need you to notify me."

"How will I know who they are?"

"One of them will be a centaur, three others will be normal teens, and they'll all be riding a dog the size of a tank named Mrs. O'Leary. They're kind of hard to miss."

Tonks nodded. "I'll keep you posted. What's the American magical world like?"

I shrugged. "Big. Dangerous. Monsters keep on trying to hunt my kind down. We need to stay hidden from the mortal world at all costs."

"Mortal?"

_Think Nico, think… _"It's what Americans call Muggles."

"What else?"

"There are two camps. We didn't know about each other until just this year, but now we need to unite to fight a great evil, just like we collaborated unknowingly two years ago to defeat another."

Tonks frowned. "You had a problem in the states?"

I nodded. "There was a war. My group fought to defend Manhattan. The others attacked the enemy's base. We didn't know that they did though. There were a lot of enemies to kill and not many of us. We didn't think that we would win, but we pulled through. My cousin was the 'hero of the prophecy'. I'm lucky it wasn't me. I was next in line to fulfill it if Percy didn't live to sixteen."

"Why wouldn't he? What was the prophecy?"

I shrugged. "I can't tell you the whole thing, but the gist of it was that one of my kind, born of my father or my two uncles, would reach sixteen and make the choice that would raze or save us all. It could have been my other cousin, but she got out of it just in time, which meant it was either Percy or myself. There was a battle; we won. Now, there's a new prophecy, and after that, there's probably going to be another. Sometimes, I really can't stand our Oracle."

"Oracle?"

I suddenly didn't feel like talking. "I can't tell you about the Oracle. I want to rest. Do you know when my trial is?"

Tonks looked surprised at my cold attitude, but said "In about a day."

I nodded and lay down on the cot. "Good night then. Or good day. I don't really care which."

"Okay."

I rolled over and fell asleep quickly.


	22. In Which Hermione Sees Clearly

Chapter 22

In Which Hermione Sees Clearly

Harry's POV

Nico's departure marked the first snowfall of the year. It was the weekend, so everybody was outside taking advantage of the cold weather.

Ron and I were walking by the black lake, which was frozen around the edges.

Ron broke the silence. "Isn't it kind of strange that Hermione didn't want to come? She wasn't even going to the library."

I shrugged. "She's probably talking to somebody. Ginny or Luna maybe. What's up with Luna, anyways? She's been acting different this year. She's so serious all the time."

Ron frowned. "It's Nico, I'll bet. Maybe he cast a spell on her!"

I laughed. "Hermione would say you're being paranoid. It's one thing to say he's a death eater, but it's another to say that he's cast a spell on Luna. Honestly, I think he fancies her. Have you seen the way he looks at her? Come on, it's cold. Let's go back to the common room for some hot chocolate."

We turned around and began to walk back up to the castle.

We said the password to the fat lady. The common room was empty save for Hermione, who hurriedly hid what she had been working on.

"Oi, Hermione. What was that?"

Hermione looked nervous. "What was what, Ron?"

I sighed. "Hermione, has anybody ever told you that you're a really, really horrid liar?"

Hermione blushed and pulled out what she had been working on.

It was an eyepatch.

It was embroidered with a torch made of shining silver thread that looked almost like it was made of real metal.

"You're not seriously making Lou Ellen, a _Slytherin_, a birthday present, are you?"

She shrugged. "Call it a charity case."

Ron and I groaned. "Why, Hermione? I mean, it's one thing to pity her, but it's another to give a Slytherin a present."

She sighed. "I've been thinking about what she told us. She's right, you know. No matter what house you're in, it's always the school versus Slytherin house. Don't you think that's just a bit unfair?"

"No. I don't. They're Slytherins. They're evil."

I nodded and continued Ron's reasoning. "There's not a dark wizard that didn't come out of Slytherin."

Hermione glared. "That's not true. Peter Pettigrew betrayed your parents, and he was a Gryffindor. Nico's a Gryffindor."

We didn't have anything to say to that.

She smiled. "Come on then. Let's go give this to Lou. I'm sure she won't mind if it's a little early."

We groaned, but followed her. We knew not to argue with her. She strode confidently through the halls, us lagging behind as much as we could.

Somewhere in the halls, we found Lou Ellen talking to the two girls we had seen the day before.

Hermione walked up to them fearlessly, ignoring the venomous glares that the three were shooting her way. She ignored the two other girls and walked straight up to Lou.

She handed her the wrapped package that contained the eyepatch. "We took your advice. This… this is for you. From all of us. Happy birthday."

Lou raised an eyebrow, but opened the present cautiously. She gasped when she saw the eyepatch. "I-I"

Hermione smiled. "Do you like it?"

Lou nodded mutely.

"Try it on," Prompted the girl I recognized as Sandry.

Lou obliged, sweeping her hair over her shoulder and buckling the patch in place. It sealed itself flawlessly to her eye so that it wouldn't itch the skin around it.

Lou smiled. "Thank you, Hermione. Thanks a lot."

Hermione smiled. "I'm glad to help. Who are you two," She said, turning to the two others.

Lou grinned. "This is my best friend, Brianna Burke. We call her Briar, because that's what she's like when she's mad. This," She put her arm around the other girl, who appeared to be trying to shrink, "Is my sister Sandrilene de Aten."

"De Aten," Breathed Ron in apparent wonder. Then he paused, "Aren't you that Egyptian princess that went missing? My brother Bill told me a bit about it. Caused a right scandal, he said."

The girl nodded, blushing slightly. "My father did not accept my wish to be schooled here. He wanted me to marry my cousin Samir. I don't like him. So I ran off. He was angry, but such things calm down with time. I must go now. Please excuse me."

Sandrilene fled, soon followed by Briar.

Lou turned to Hermione again. "Thank you, Hermione. This is the best gift anybody has ever given me. If you ever need anything…" She paused as though weighing her words, "Don't hesitate to ask me."

Hermione smiled. "That's all right. I'm glad you like it. Good bye."

She turned and began to drag us away.

I couldn't help but wonder who was polyjuicing as Hermione. I couldn't believe she'd just done this.

What else had Nico's arrival brought?


	23. In Which Rachel Makes an Entrance

Chapter 23

In Which Rachel Makes an Entrance

Nico's POV

I awoke to Tonks shaking me. "Wake up, Nico, mate. It's almost time for your trial."

I sat up groggily, rubbing my eyes. Tonks rolled her eyes. "Honestly, mate, you sleep like the dead."

I smirked. "Perk of being a necromancer. How can I sleep at night without being woken up by my minions if I don't sleep just like them?"

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Come on, then. Up you get. I'm supposed to escort you, and the wizengamot doesn't like being kept waiting."

I sighed and stood, letting myself be led through the corridors.

We arrived at length at a door, which I was pushed through.

"End of the line for me, mate. Get in there. Hope they don't feed you to the Dementors."

I raised an eyebrow. "Comforting thought."

Without waiting for an answer, I let the two other officials walk me into the courtroom.

It was a lot like a regular courtroom, but it was obviously made for people who wouldn't be provided with defense: It was the court against one man. I could already tell that this wasn't a fair trial.

I was shoved roughly down into the chair. The chains that were draped over it began to move, restraining me. I didn't resist; what good would it do? I would be able to shadow-travel away anyways, chains or not.

I leaned back in the not-so-comfortable chair and raised a condescending eyebrow at the man on the podium, the minister of magic, Rufus Scrigemour.

"Nico DiAngelo, you stand here today charged with-"

I groaned loudly. "I know, I know, can we just get this over with? I have other things to do than be chained in a chair all day."

Everybody looked shocked by the way that I had disrespected the minister, but I just raised an eyebrow.

The minister looked flustered. "Yes, well, what do you plead?"

"Guilty as hell," I deadpanned.

Whatever they were expecting, it wasn't that. "Guilty?"

I nodded. "I'm the son of Tom Riddle. I use umbrakenisis. I am a Necromancer. Those were my charges, weren't they? I'm guilty of all of them."

"Those were not the only charges."

I raised an eyebrow. "Weren't they? Of course they were. You just made the others to get me into a courtroom. It's my father you want to discuss, not me."

The minister persevered. "You were also charged with participation in Death Eater activities."

I shrugged. "Oh, yeah. That. What about it?"

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"No."

"The report on you says that you have the Dark Mark."

"I do."

"So you are a Death Eater."

"No."

"Would you care to explain," the minister said exasperatedly.

I sighed. "I was marked because my father thought I would be useful. However, I have done nothing wrong. I haven't been on any of the supposed raids or anything of the sort. I'm pretty much kept around as a toy for Bella when she gets bored."

"Bella?"

"Lestrange. You know, tall, pale, big hair, baby voice, evil, insane? Likes to torture people?"

The minister nodded. "Would you be able to tell us the location of he-who-must-not-be-named's headquarters?"

I shook my head. "No, unfortunately, or I would have stormed the place ages ago. I visit the place in dreams now, not that it hurts less or anything, rotten mental link."

The minister frowned. "Where were you before this year at Hogwarts?"

I raised an eyebrow. "America."

"What for? To gather forces for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

I frowned. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. That's a bit of a mouthful, isn't it? Why don't you all just call him Tom, or Riddle? It's not half as long. I call him Tommy, just to piss him off. He turns the most magnificent shade of purple."

I snickered at the memory. I hadn't tried it again afterwards though. Gods, it had hurt like Hades' torture incarnate.

The wizengamot began to mutter.

"Do you have any defense for your case?"

I nodded. "Of course I do. What kind of an idiot do you take me for? They should be arriving soon."

As though on cue, the ceiling imploded.

Into the courtroom flew Blackjack, Percy's Pegasus. I would have been relieved, but Percy wasn't on the Pegasus, nor was anybody else I had told Luna to call. No, riding the Pegasus was Rachel, thick green mist flowing from her body.

Everybody gasped, and the Minister said, like a total idiot, "Halt! Who are you?"

Rachel dismounted and turned slowly, eerily, towards the minister.

"_I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python,"_ She turned back to me. _"Approach, seeker, and ask."_

Blackjack was backing away to the back of the courtroom. I wanted to do the same. Yeah, I faced off Kampe with a sword and my best friend, I've fought in countless battles and camped on the banks of the river Styx, but the Oracle of Delphi, a sixteen year old girl with red hair and freckles, still gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Go figure.

I took a shaky breath to try to calm my nerves and said: "O oracle of Delphi, speaker of riddles, seer of fate, what must I do to complete my task?"

The mist changed from a haze around Rachel to a green snake, slithering towards me.

Those who hide, safe within walls,

_Shall find too soon their time is long gone._

_One shall pass in a vessel unmanned_

_One shall die by a brother's hand._

_At last, the house of death revealed,_

_And gods forgive the ones who have healed._

The mist flowed back into Rachel and she collapsed like a rag doll.

Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked rapidly before turning to me with a confused frown on her face.

"Nico, where am I? Who are these people? Why…" She seemed to realize one thing suddenly, and said: "Nico, why are you chained to a chair?"


	24. In Which Nothing Happens

This chapter is really just to have a Harry POV, nothing really happens.

I wanted to tell everybody that I will always update twice a week, so that I always have something good to update instead of a crappy chapter every day.

I would update more often, but I got called in yesterday to perform at the Renaissance Festival for my Irish Dance school because one of the dancers broke her foot. I'm just a bit busy... But wish me luck! I have 2 days to learn 2 dances up to performance level! (I'll post a video on my profile, I'll be the one screwing up.)

Thanks to all my readers for reviewing! Please read my other stories!

The next half of the trial is in the next chapter, don't worry.

Chapter 24

In Which Nothing Happens

Harry's POV

Classes that day were relatively normal; Snape was a git, Slughorn was doting on me, and Trelawney was back to making fake predictions about my death.

We didn't' have much homework that day, for reasons none of us students could know.

All day, I wondered what could be happening to Nico.

Was he on trial yet?

Was he going to be convicted?

Was he going to weasel his way out of it?

What was going to happen?

I took my mind off these questions by throwing myself into studying the 'half-blood prince' and his oh-so-helpful potions book.

I didn't come up with anything.

I began to notice the looks that I was receiving suddenly. The looks from the Slytherins, for example, weren't of scorn anymore. They had a sort of betrayed look in their eyes that very nearly hurt me.

Luna would look at me disapprovingly, shake her head, and walk away whenever I approached her.

Still more surprising was Neville. I was constantly shocked and almost ashamed of my actions by the way he would look at me, with eyes that churned with emotion, saying so many things at once that I could barely keep track:

_How could you?_

_Why?_

_He did nothing wrong._

And yet the most hurtful thing was when I confronted him.

"Hey, Neville, what's up with you?"

He looked up at me. "You sold out Nico. He didn't do anything to you. You've given my friend a first-class ticket to Askaban. Am I supposed to be grateful?"

"But-"

He gave me another hurt look before standing. "You just can't understand."

And he walked away, a proud saunter in his walk that I had barely ever seen in him.

His words hurt me than I could ever let anybody know: I hated not understanding. Neville's tone had made it quite obvious that I was barely even a pawn in this situation. I didn't like that. Not that I wanted to be the center of attention, far from that, but making the situation seem so big made me fell helpless. And that was what I hated.

I groaned and walked upstairs to the boy's dormitories, collapsing on my bed, silently cursing Nico DiAngelo for bringing me all these questions that I highly doubted would ever be answered.


	25. In Which Nico is Free

Chapter 25

In Which Nico is Free

Nico's POV

The Wizengamot called a recess soon after Rachel's arrival. Although I had to stay chained into the chair, everybody else left for lunch. Rachel stayed with me.

"So, Nico. What's going on?"

I shrugged. "It's complicated."

She raised an eyebrow, obviously not convinced.

I sighed and began my tale, starting with the quest and ending with her arrival.

Rachel nodded. "And Percy and the gang are supposed to get here soon, yeah?"

I nodded. "They should be here in a few minutes."

As though on a cue, the shadows began to swirl, and Mrs. O'Leary burst out of the shadows.

Riding her was Percy and Annabeth. Oddly enough, Chiron followed soon after.

They were all slightly disoriented at first, but soon enough came to their senses. Percy drew his sword and was about to slash me out of my cage (And chair).

"Percy, stop. Freeing me is just going to make them think I'm guilty."

Annabeth frowned. "Guilty of what?"

I sighed and explained everything all over again, Rachel punctuating my sentences every so often.

Afterwards, Percy seemed to be the only one who didn't get the gravity of the situation. He just shrugged. "So you mean to say that all these magical people called wizards are frozen in fear before another wizard who actually needs a fake name to be called evil and who won't even kill some sixteen year old kid if he's not tied up? And we're supposed to be worried about this?"

I shook my head. "That alone isn't the problem. Haven't you been listening? He's put his soul into different objects. He can't die. He's cheated death and it's making my dad angry."

Percy nodded. "Okay. Got it. And now, we have to help you, after you kicked us out earlier?"

I sighed. "Yeah, pretty much."

Annabeth groaned. "Fine, I'll help, but just because I want to know more about these wizards. Thalia's on her way, she'll meet us at Hogwarts. You know how the hunt keeps her busy."

Just then, the aurors that were 'watching' me noticed my friends, and they approached, wands raised. I laughed. "Woah there, guys. This is just my defense."

Mrs. O'Leary seemed to find everybody very interesting, and Percy yelled: "Down! Mrs. O'Leary, down!"

I laughed. "Perce, you might want to send Mrs. O'Leary home. She'll destroy the courtroom."

Percy looked sheepish. "Right. Mrs. O'Leary, go home. I'll see you at camp."

Mrs. O'Leary whined a bit, but shadow-traveled away.

After brief explanations, Annabeth and Chiron were permitted to plead my case.

Annabeth started. "So, let me get this straight. You want to throw Nico in jail because his _father_ is evil? What has Nico done to say that he's like his father? Yeah, he uses umbrakenisis. He hasn't killed anybody with it, has he? He just uses it to travel and to defend himself if need be. So he's a necromancer. Last time he used it was to save the lives of the kids at your school from Kampe. What other charges do you have that aren't completely based on conjecture, rumor, and the word of a couple of paranoid sixteen year olds?"

I snickered at the description of the 'golden trio'.

The minister looked rather sheepish at being yelled at by a teenager.

Chiron stepped in. "I don't pretend to know what you all have been through in your war. I know next to nothing about it. I taught Tom Riddle during the summers he spent away from your school and I saw the way he changed over time. I have taught enough young ones who turned to the wrong side to know that Nico is not one of them. He has no drive to kill. He has no need, wish, or any other desire to intentionally hurt another. You cannot send him to his doom in the place of his father as a scapegoat for your troubles."

A woman in pink who looked remarkably like a toad coughed with an irritating h_em, hem_ sound and stood. "Ladies and gentlemen of the wizengamot, I would like to ask you why you even listen to these ravings. Mr. DiAngelo is clearly a vicious Death Eater like any other. He associates with this… this _half breed_, and says that we are the ones who are wrong!"

Annabeth snarled. "What's your problem with half breeds?"

Umbridge raised an eyebrow. "They are beneath human intelligence, girl. Surely you know this."

Annabeth laughed. "So this is the head of your wondrous government? Oh, I can see why people prefer America then! You will let yourselves be dictated by this woman who is clearly little more than a conniving, prejudiced toddler crying for attention by pretending that she has any idea whatsoever what she's talking about! If you can follow this kind of law, then I can tell you right away, I can see why the colonies wanted their independence."

The wizengamot looked both embarrassed and angry at the same time. The toad woman was turning an interesting shade of purple that went wondrously well with her horrendous pink cardigan.

Before she could speak, the minister stood. "All in favor of sentencing the accused to Askaban?"

The minister raised his hand, as did a few others.

"All in favor of clearing the accused of all charges?"

All the other hands went up.

I was saved.

The chains fell off, and I couldn't help the grin that exploded on my face like one of Luna's bottles of Winklefly repellent.

Don't ask.


	26. In Which Nico Settles In

**THANK YOU SO MUCH TO RANDOM READER FOR HELPING ME WITH THIS!**

**I am forever in your debt.**

**I'm sorry that it took me so long, but you'll be happy to know that I'm on chapter 27 on another Harry Potter fanfic and will post it as soon as I'm done with it.**

**I'm not officially recontinuing this story, it's still on a semi-hiatus, but I figured since you've all been so patient with me, I'd give you a treat. This, unfortunately, is my last backup chapter. (I always keep one spare in case I'm late)  
><strong>

**So, enjoy! And please, be like Random Reviewer and send me ideas, sections, or requests! I live to serve, people!  
><strong>

**With out any further ado,  
><strong>

Chapter 26

In Which Nico Settles In

Harry's POV

The next morning, I walked to the great hall feeling giddy.

I helped myself to a plateful of delicious food and took a swig of pumpkin juice.

"You think he's already in Azkaban?" Ron asked.

Hermione shrugged. Then someone gasped. "He's already back!" Neville  
>whispered.<p>

"WHAT?" We shouted and turned towards the entrance to the Great Hall. Nico was walking towards the Gryffindor table. He sat opposite to us and  
>smiled.<br>"Miss me already?" he asked, still smiling. We just stared at him.

"Are you real?"

"Yes we did!" Neville shouted and hugged him. Everyone in the Hall had stopped talking when Nico had entered the room.

Lou Ellen stood up. "Why is everyone so silent? It starts to get creepy after a while, you know."

Everyone remained silent. Lou Ellen sighed. Nico took some treacle tart.

"Why aren't you in Azkaban?" I asked.

"They decided it was wrong to send me there just because my father."

"So you are Voldemort's son?" A few people around us flinched, when I mentioned Voldemort. Get over it already!

"Yup." Luna and Neville gave him a weird look. "Well, I like to call him Tommy boy,"(I somehow managed not to laugh)"just to annoy him. He looks really funny when he's mad like that. I like the shade of purple his face turns into. I doubt I'll use it in his presence another time. That was enough torturing for the rest of my life, thank you very much."

Neville chuckled. "Tommy boy. Next time I see him, I'm going to use that. Genius."

Nico laughed. "You know, Nev, I've gotta say, There's something about a prison cell that just gives you the creeps. I mean, sure, there're the holding cells in the palace, but those are mostly for dead people. It doesn't give you the same impression."

Neville rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Nico."

Nico smirked and went back to his tart.

I gave Neville an incredulous look. "You're talking to him? After all-"

Neville glared at me harshly. "He was judged innocent. I hate his father as much as you, and he probably does too, but you have to let the damned grudge go."

Nico was about to make a retort when his hair glowed slightly before turning a rather nice mix of silver and green.

Neville began howling with laughter, and Nico looked at it with interest for a few minutes before pointing his wand at the Slytherin table. "Ron, get out of the way. I can't see my target."

Ron obliged.

Nico muttered a spell, and we all stared in wonder as Draco Malfoy's normally neat silvery hair grew into a positively magnificent red and gold Mohawk.

Neville was clutching his sides in laughter, as were Ron and myself.

Nico looked at Draco for a few seconds before nodding. "It suits him. Red and gold. Matches his complexion."

We hooted in laughter, while Draco tried furiously to change his hair back.

Neville took mercy on Nico and turned his green and silver hair back to its usual black, but nobody made any move to help Malfoy.

As it was the weekend, we all trooped up to the common room after breakfast.

Nico and Neville were having an animated conversation, punctuated by bursts of laughter, and Ron, Hermione and I were looking on, shocked that Nico could be, so… well, nice. He didn't seem evil at all.

After a little while, Nico said: "Pinochle?"

Neville grinned. "Yeah, that would be nice. But we don't have enough people. We can't play pinochle with two people, and I don't want to teach anybody."

Nico shrugged. "Call up Lou Ellen then?"

Neville snorted. "That'd go over well, wouldn't it?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I've got enough hating, what's a bit more?"

He pulled out his wand and muttered a quick spell. A rainbow shot out of it, though not much of the common room noticed.

Nico dug around in his pocket and took out a gold-colored coin. He tossed it in the rainbow and said: "O Iris, show me Lou Ellen."

The rainbow shimmered and turned into an image of Lou Ellen on the lawn of the castle.

She looked over at us and said: "Hey, Nico. What's up?"

Nico shrugged. "You up for a game of Pinochle?"

Lou smirked. "If you don't mind losing."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that'll happen."

She grinned and swiped her hand through the rainbow, breaking the connection.

Nico grinned and went up to the dormitory, coming down with a deck of cards and a bag of coins.

Neville pulled a leather satchel out of his robe. It jingled, as though it were also a coin purse.

Lou Ellen walked in.

We stared at her. "You're a Slytherin," Said one girl. "You aren't supposed to be here."

"Yeah, how did you know our password?"

Lou Ellen snorted. "You're joking right? Half the school knows your damn password, you barely ever change it, and even when you do, you yell it out for the world to hear whenever you walk in here! We could all storm this place if we had half a mind to."

We all had the decency to look sheepish.

Lou just walked over to Nico and Neville and sat down with her own bag of coins. "Deal me in."

Nico did so, and they began to play. They were odd cards, and I noticed that they played in an odd way as well. Lou Ellen used Galleons to bid, Neville used some funny silver coins that didn't look like sickles, and Nico used large golden coins.

They were making up quite a pile of assorted currencies.

After a while of Neville getting rich and Nico bemoaning his fate, Neville said: "Hey, Lou, where did you get that amulet?"

Lou Ellen took it off and said: " It was a present from Luna for my birthday. She said it would keep the Wrackspurts away. I didn't want to ask."

Then, she smirked. "Tell you what. I'll armwrestle you for it."

Neville raised an eyebrow. "Sure. What's in it for you?"

She shrugged. "I get to kick your ass. Isn't that reward enough?"

Nico grinned and stood up: "Come one, come all, witness the arm-wrestling battle between Gryffindor's Neville Longbottom and Slytherin's own Lou Ellen… whatever her last name is! We're taking bets!"

He promptly sat down and tossed three little golden coins. "I'll bet three drachma on Lou. Sorry, Nev, but you just don't have the gumption."

Dean Thomas was the first to recover from the shock of seeing Neville attempt to arm-wrestle. He shrugged. "I'll bet a sickle on Neville."

It wasn't long before everybody was placing bets.

"I play winner," Said Nico, sitting down.

The two began.

I was surprised at how evenly matched the two were.

They pushed at each other's hands, growling.

Neville's hand began to sway slowly outwards…

But in the same breadth that Lou knew she would win, Neville pushed hard on the opposite side.

Lou's hand slammed down onto the table.

Neville Grinned and stood, grabbing his pile of coins. "Ha!"

Nico chuckled. "Aw, shut up, Nev. It's impolite to gloat. Come on, isn't there a senate meeting, Centurion Longbottom?"

Neville groaned. "Don't remind me. I hate those togas. They keep slipping, and I keep imagining what would happen if it fell."

Nico snorted. "That'd be a sight, wouldn't it?"

Neville rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Nico, or I'll have you _Bastinado_."

Nico raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. Just because I'd hate to have your ol' uncle H kill you for having me stoned to death."

Neville grinned in triumph. "So, will you help me get it on or not?"

Nico sighed. "Fine, let's get that toga on you. You owe me."

Neville rolled his eyes and followed Nico to the Dormitories.

I stared at Ron. "Do you think it's Sirius back from the dead and on Polyjuice?"

Ron nodded. "That, or Nico did meet the Dementors after all."


	27. In Which Nico is Awesome

Chapter 27

In Which Nico is Awesome

Nico's POV

"Nico, it's time."

Percy's IM showed up in the bottom of my cauldron in potions class.

I tried to act normal while muttering into my cauldron. (Harder than it looks) "Time? Now?"

He nodded grimly. "It's the calm before the storm, man. I'd say we've got about twelve hours before the battle starts."

We'd been waiting for it. We all knew it was going to happen.

Gaia was restless and rallying her troops.

We knew it.

I nodded at Percy. "I'll be there in thirty minutes. I can't just walk out of potions class. See you. I need you to have some ambrosia ready at the landing point: It's a long way from Scotland."

I plunged a ladle into the message, shattering the connection just as professor Slughorn walked past.

Class was uneventful: after 'discovering' that Voldemort was my father, Slughorn stopped talking to me.

And that was just fine with me.

After class, I cleaned up my things and all but sprinted out the door and into the shadow of the wall.

I came out on top of a mountain: it had a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean, but I didn't care.

I had a job to do.

I quickly ate the Nectar and Ambrosia that Percy handed me and nodded at him. "Let's kick some monster ass."

He grinned. "Hell yeah."

I followed him to a tent and collapsed on a cot.

Percy poked me. "Nico, dude, that's _my_ cot. Get off it. I want to sleep."

I groaned. "Can't hear you. 'm sleeping."

It wasn't long before I felt something freezing and wet hit my back. I sprang up. "PERCY!"

He smirked at me. "I warned you. _My_ cot."

I groaned and stumbled over to my own cot.

I was asleep in seconds.

When I awoke, I knew immediately it was time.

There was no sound, and it was clearly the crack of dawn, but the earth was rumbling beneath me in a way it never did naturally.

I put on my armor and summoned my sword.

It was go time.

In seconds, I was next to Percy, getting one of those rallying speeches that the Romans do from Jason.

"All right men."

"And women," said Reyna.

"And women," Jason acquiesced.

This sounded like one of those Quidditch pep talks.

Word for word.

"We've been waiting for this moment for two years, and we've never been more ready. You are the best fighters since the dawn of the legion, and the gods are on our side. We will fight to the last man, and even if we lose, we will have died with honor."

We all roared in agreement, banging our weapons on our shields.

"TWELFTH LEGION FULMINATIA!" Jason and Reyna roared together.

We responded with cheers.

And thus the battle of the Giants began.

It was all a blur, but somehow I saw everything.

Percy fought like a demon, slashing down line after line of enemy fighters.

I, in the mean time, took on a platoon of earthborn.

I took down a few dozen of them and helped defeat three giants.

And then, I heard a yell, the muted _thunk_ of something hitting my head, and everything went black.

A/N: I've never been very good with battle scenes, so this'll have to do. I know it's REALLY short, but I promise to make up for it in the next chapter.

Hint: The title is In Which Nico is Entirely Too Happy.


	28. In Which Nico is Entirely Too Happy

**A/N: I know, I haven't updated in a long time, but Hurricane (Or depression, I forget) Isaac just came through, so the schools are closed. I therefore had time to finish writing this chapter. I would have done it sooner, but my hard drive crashed and I had to retrieve my documents.**

**Read and Review,  
><strong>

**Silex  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Chapter 28<p>

In Which Nico is Entirely Too Happy

Harry's POV

It was the end of the day, and Nico had officially disappeared.

Neville wasn't too worried, and I was a bit relieved anyways. He was starting to scare me.

More than usual.

And yet, a few minutes later, he walked in.

He was badly injured: He had an arrow through his calf and his black armor (Thought McGonagall had confiscated that too) was covered in golden dust and dripping crimson blood. He also bore splatters of mud and green slime, but his grin looked like it was threatening to break his face.

He quickly walked up to the first girl he saw (Who happened to be a _very_ confused Alicia Spinnet) and kissed her smack on the lips.

When he pulled back, he interrupted her 'how dare you' by a "YES!" followed by a roar of boisterous laughter so out of place for him that I was almost scared.

"IT'S OVER!" He laughed again, practically dancing around the common room while the rest of us looked at him, terrified.

"You know," muttered Neville, "I think he's even scarier when he's happy."

He walked up to Nico and grabbed him firmly by the shoulders. "Nico, what's over?"

He grinned at Neville like some hyper eleven year old and said: "The war! It's over! She's gone! After two years of complete and utter hell, it's finally over!"

Neville stopped and frowned for a second before saying: "It's over?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah."

"The giant war?"

"Yeah."

"And you didn't invite me?"

"Yeah."

"So I've just missed the biggest battle of the last two centuries?"

"Yeah."

"Do you only say 'yeah' now?"

"Yeah."

Neville groaned. "Nico, you haven't been this happy since you were twelve years old. Are you drunk?"

Ron gave a derisive snort.

Nico grinned. "Drunk on victory, my friend. And, to top it all off, I've finally done that act of valor. No more lead tablets!"

He pulled up his right sleeve, showing off a brand new tattoo, of an SPQR over a glyph, a single stripe almost gleaming beneath it.

Neville raised an eyebrow. "Octavian must have been furious."

Nico's grin stretched wider, which I didn't think was possible. "You have _no_ idea. I thought he'd burst. He actually kind of did. Went on one of his anti-Greek rants and tried to kill Percy. Octavian's going to be executed for mutiny against a former praetor. You Romans are horribly unoriginal. Execution at dawn. Shame I don't get to watch."

Neville rolled his eyes. "Leave it to you to feel cheated because you missed out on watching a guy get thrown into a sack of angry weasels and tossed into the Little Tiber."

Nico snorted. "Yeah." He frowned and turned to us. "Harry, conference call. Come with me."

Ron and Hermione got in front of me. "You want to get to Harry, you'll have to go through us first."

Nico snorted. "You people are _so_ funny," He said patronizingly, "Trust me, if I wanted to kill Harry, I would have absolutely no problem killing you two as well. Nosy paranoid idiots. Come on, I have something to tell you."

"And what's wrong with here?"

"Outside. Now."

He left, so naturally, we followed.

He strode down a corridor and into a deserted alcove, where he stood in front of us, looking incredibly tired. "Look, guys, I'm tired of this fighting."

We didn't answer.

Nico sighed. "What the hell is it going to take to show you that I have no intention to hurt any of you? I'm just a kid who's trying to get through school. We have the same goals. We don't have to be friends, but we can at least be allies. All we're doing is holding each other back, and that's not going to help us defeat the Tomster."

I snorted. "Tomster?"

He shrugged. "Tommy-Boy, Tomster, the more humiliating, the better."

I suddenly remembered that Nico was still the son of Lord Voldemort. "I don't believe you. You're just trying to get close to us to hurt us."

He raised an eyebrow. "I am the king of ghosts. I am a master of Umbrakenisis and Necromancy. I can kill you with a single word, and I can torture your immortal soul for all eternity should I chose to do so, after which I could reanimate your lifeless body and force it to do my bidding. Believe me, if I wanted to kill you, you'd sure as Hades be dead."

Hermione frowned. "There it is again. Why do you say Hades? That's the _Greek_ underworld, isn't it?"

Nico shrugged. "And what, it's illegal to believe in the Greek gods now? My beliefs have nothing to do with the matter at hand. Believe it or not, I was sent here specifically to _help_ you. I have no love for Voldemort, and I have responsibilities to my family back in the U.S. We just finished our own war. Play nice, and I bet they'll come help us out."

"Help us out? Who? What war?"

He sighed. "Unfortunately, that's not my secret to tell. I'm hardly a commanding officer, just the lowly legionnaire who only just got his first stripe. You'd have to ask the praetors for any information."

I sighed. "Can't you give us a straight answer for once?"

Nico groaned. "All right, fine. I'll put it in terms your inferior minds can comprehend. Me: Nico DiAngelo. My dad: big bad evil dude. War secrets: Not mine. Got all that, or do I need to go through the whole Me-Tarzan You-Jane bit?"

Ron, who had been oddly silent, made proof of common sense. "Allies then. I suppose we can do that. But let me tell you, one wrong move and you'll be chucked out of here faster than you can say your own name."

Nico grinned. "As humorous as I find your trying to threaten me, I'm glad that we've reached an agreement. I need to speak with you tomorrow night, in the Forbidden Forest. Be there. Don't worry; you won't be harmed when I'm around."

With that, he walked past us and into the common room, leaving us to wonder just what we'd gotten ourselves into.


	29. In Which Hades is Displeased

**A/N: I know, you all hate me. I'm finally off grounding, but now I'm stuck. I'm submitting this chapter even though it's _incredibly_ short. Can one of you give me ideas?**

Chapter 29

In Which Hades is Displeased

Nico's POV

I must be a masochist.

I mean it.

I had figured that my father would call me soon enough.

So, I wasn't entirely surprised when I found myself in Hades' throne room as soon as my eyes were closed.

I knelt respectfully. "Father."

Hades glared at me. "Get up, Nico. I've no time for formalities."

I stood confusedly. This was the lord of the dead. He _always_ had time for formalities.

"What," he hissed angrily, "Wasn't clear about 'Do not let them trust you'?"

I flinched.

"Right, about that…"

He snarled at me. "What do you _think_ you're _doing_?"

I groaned. "Father, your method wasn't working, all right? I couldn't get anything done because they were practically _stalking_ me!"

Father glared. "Harry Potter has a mental link to Tom's mind. If you let a single thing slip, or if you make any kind of plan, he will know."

I opted for the safe approach.

"Father, I know I can do this. Trust me."

Father looked almost amused. "Very well. I will give you an ultimatum."

Oh, no. Ultimatums from my father were bad. Very, very, very _bad_.

"You have until the end of the year to kill Tom Marvolo Riddle. If you fail, then I will do what you have for so long attempted. A soul for a soul."

My gods, he wasn't seriously saying he was going to _kill_ me?

Did I even have to ask?

I knew my father.

And he'd do absolutely _anything_ to lower his paperwork load.

Even kill his only son.

Although honestly, I completely understand: Paperwork is _murder_.

Say it with me: _Masochist_.


	30. In Which I Get Pissed Off

Look, people, I understand that you're waiting for updates. I'm as angry as you, but I don't know what to do with this. This story is not on hiatus, I'm just searching for ideas. I have a bunch of great scenes in mind, but I need to find a bridge between now and then, and it's not as easy as you'd think.

I'm writing this as a response to our guest Crystalyn. Her review was: Are you going to finish this story or not? I am getting tired of waiting.

Seething yet? I am.

Crystalyn, I get where you're coming from. But I specifically posted my excuses. Your review was rude and uncalled for. Your comment makes you seem like a whiny toddler who doesn't know how to wait. Patience is clearly a virtue that escapes you. If you wrote your own fanfictions, you would be signed in. The fact that you are a guest shows me that you haven't written a fanficiton before (Or at the very least that you have never had to deal with being obliged to update your stories regularly). Therefore, before criticising me for being slow, perhaps you should put yourself in my shoes.

I'm a sophmore in high school. I'm only fourteen, so I'm already a year, almost two, ahead.  
>All seven of my classes are at college level. I need to pass college (APAICE) exams at the end of the year. I'm being overloaded with homework. My parents just grounded me for several months. (It got extended to December, by the way, to those who commented about the wait past November.) Be grateful that I can actually find time to write, let alone update. Your comment does nothing but make me honestly _want_ to not update for another few months, just to see how you like that. Fortunately, my _other_ readers are actually _helpful_ and I don't want to punish them just because you're being impolite.

To all my other readers, I love you all. Thank you so much for being patient, I know it's hard.

I need to find a bridge between where I am now and when the legion arrives and the Tomster gets his ass kicked. (You read my mind, readinlikethewind!)

Here's a shoutout to everybody that reviewed!

Special people (Idea givers)

**From: **

**Wow! Your story is amazing! - Maybe Nico has another dream after the meeting  
>with Hades and its Voldemort torturing him again- and unfortunately Neville<br>forgets to silence him and Harry hears the whole conversation?  
>Just an idea if you wanted to use because I heard you might need some help and<br>I love your stories!  
>Please update soon!<strong>

I may do that, but I don't know if I can get it to fit in the context. I'll definitely use it if I can, though.

**From: readinlikethewind**

**You could have nico tell the wizards about the greek stuff and then both of the camps come and help and then then the stupid head who calls himself the greatest wizard of all time comes in and calls his death eaters includin the slytherins but they betray him and one of them kicks him in the shins he screams and the slytherin reapearates away then Meanwhile harry collects all the hocruxes and finds out that he is a hocrux**

As I said before, you read my mind. I was actually planning to have the legion step in. However, this is a no-horcrux story, just because I couldn't get it to fit in, and Nico can't tell the Wizards, and also, seriously? Kick Voldemort in the shin? Really? You got a bit random there, friend. Love the idea anyways, but I'm probably not doing the kick part. Sorry to disappoint.

**From: Spyrkle10**

**Maybe Hades decides to force Nico to do his paperwork to 'learn more about the enemy' because the paperwork is for souls killed by Voldemort? Maybe Nico refuses and is locked up until he is more reasonable? Just giving some ideas... Keep updating!**

I hadn't considered this one, but it's a great idea. Maybe Nico gets locked up and one of the CHB demigods go rescue him, and then they all go to Hogwarts and gather up the legion. Or something. I'm still brainstorming…

**From: Ame Deri-chan**

**Ideas? Um... I was hoping that Hazel(wif arion whos just so cool) will help her bro...n um,sice theyre suppose to meet at te woods maybe te centaurs can make an appearance or um, chocolate rabbits, IDK...maybe, mr weasley get attacked n nico goes to te orders hus... Oh wait..dos that happen lready? Too much fics:P**

It was great… right up until the chocolate rabbits (At least we know you have your priorities straight). I thought of having Hazel show up after the canon bit where Katie gets poisoned by the cursed emerald necklace. Seems right up her alley. What do you think? Oh, and work on your spelling and grammar, please, it's actually kind of scary. I hope you did it on purpose.

**From: Puckoberon (Loooove the name!)**

**Well you could have this happen. ... the golden trio and Nico meet Voldemort/ Tommy and when Harry Hermione or Ron say something about him being Nico's dad while they're fighting Tommy gets really confused by this and says that he's not anyones father and that he's Nico's brother. So then the golden trios really. Confused and once they excape the question Nico about it and his really pissed and so is Hades and Hades says now since his so angery that Nico only has one Month the kill Voldemort. Hope this helped!**

Love it, love it, love it. You're a genius, Puck. This could fit pretty well with the dream bit from , if harry has a vision or something. I don't know, but I like the idea a lot. Thanks.

I've ranted enough. (Ironically, this A/N is longer than some of my chapters.) Thank you very much to all of you. Please keep the ideas coming!


	31. In Which a Solution is Proffered

**A/N: Okay, I know you hate me. I've taken forever, I'm horrible. I sincerely apologize.**

**As usual, don't get your hopes up on my updating soon, I don't know when the next opportunity will be.**

**Please enjoy, R&R, and all that rot. You know the drill.**

**And a VERY SPECIAL THANKS to my newest buddy TailsDoll13 for reviewing almost literally EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER she read! Thanks!**

**This one's for you.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 30<p>

In Which A Solution is Proffered

Harry's POV

The following evening, Hermione, Ron, and I stumbled through the forbidden forest.

Nico had met us there and led us in, not saying a word.

We had nothing to do but follow.

When he finally stopped, we were scratched up and covered in mud.

Nico, yet again, was barefoot, and he didn't seem to mind the scratches that he had received.

"All right," he said after a moment. "We need to share intel. I think that between us, we should have enough information to take care of the ToMiester."

"He has horcruxes," I said immediately, holding back a snort at his newest name for Voldemort.

Nico froze. "He has… what?"

"Horcruxes," I answered. "They're pieces of his soul that-"

"I know what they are," he said coolly, "I just can't believe that he'd… He's always… What's gotten…" He let out a loud groan. "For the love of all that's Greek, what was he _thinking_?"

"Probably about immortality," I said, vaguely surprised that Voldemort hadn't told his son about them.

"It would be rather nice to be immortal, wouldn't it?" Ron asked, with a small smile.

Nico snarled. "No. It wouldn't be. Never suggest that again. Immortality is not for man to seek. It is a gift that only the gods can bestow. And it is also a curse, to see those you love die while you know that you can never join them. Horcruxes, especially, are the worst of black magics. They rip apart the soul so that you can never truly die. And to escape Thanatos for so long can do nothing but bring his ire down onto you. Nobody can escape death. They can hide from it for a while, but they can't escape forever."

"But he's still not dead," I pointed out. "And if he can't die, then that's a bit of a problem."

Nico frowned and sat on a tree stump. "We can't go out Horcrux hunting, we haven't got the time. That means we'll need a weapon that kills the whole soul, no matter where it is."

"Is that even possible?" Hermione asked curiously.

Nico frowned. "It is, but not so much for us mortals. You'd need a weapon of divine proportions. I'm well connected, but that may be outside my sphere of influence."

"Divine proportions?" Hermione asked quietly, "How powerful exactly are divine proportions?"

"Powerful enough to rip your soul from your body with just a scratch. With a real wound, it would kill the body and destroy the soul, no matter how many pieces it's in."

I blinked. "That's possible?"

He nodded. "I've seen the weapon that can do it. It's a sword, double edged. Its name is _backbiter_. It also turns into a scythe, but I find those hard to wield."

"If you've seen it before, can't you get it?" Ron asked.

Nico shook his head. "It's not that simple. My uncles have the weapon now, and they don't trust me because of my father. They'd never trust me around a weapon of mass destruction."

"Weapon of mass destruction?" Hermione asked weakly.

Nico nodded. "That weapon almost destroyed the world four years ago."

I blinked. "Oh… so that won't work?"

He shook his head. "Not if I'm the one that does the job. But what if it weren't me that fought with it? I'm not the one that's prophesized to defeat him."

I shook my head. "No. No way in hell am I doing that."

Nico nodded. "Yes. You can wield it, because you will not use it for evil."

"Would you?" I asked.

He eyed me with a raised eyebrow. "What do you think?" He asked softly.

I opened my mouth to answer…

And I couldn't.

I didn't know.

I stared at him in silence, trying to formulate a response.

Nico nodded slowly. "I know. You don't trust me any more than they do. We'll go see my uncles the next time we get a day off. Just you, Harry." Ron began to protest, but Nico interrupted him. "No, Just him. I'm sorry, but security is very important to us and you can't come. This isn't up for discussion, I don't make the rules, my uncles do. Meet me in two days, in Hogsmeade."

With that, he turned and fled.

We tried to follow, but he was like a shadow amongst shadows: None of us could even tell where he had gone.


	32. In Which Neville is Displeased

**A/N:** **Thanks so much for sticking with me, people. I really love you all. I couldn't update AT ALL for the past few months because my mom decided FFN was bad for me and blocked it on my internet server, and proxy sites wouldn't allow me to log in. **

**Anyways, I finally know where to take this story (YAY!) and so I hope to be able to update more often. Thank you so much for your support.**

**Also, so that you know the original reason for my lack of updates (And that it had a purpose), I had Final exams and SATs!**

**Here are my scores (AICE is cambrige college level exams):**

**AICE math (College precalc): B**

**AP World History: A**

**AICE English Language: A**

**AICE/AP French language: A**

**AICE General Paper A**

**AICE Art and Design: A**

**AICE thinking skills: A**

**You see why I couldn't do much updating.**

**And now, my pride and joy, my SATs!  
><strong>

**Math: 620/800 (I generally suck at math, so this was good for me)**

**English: 670/800**

**Reading: 730/800**

**Total: 2020/2400**

**These are excellent scores for tenth grade. I'm really proud of them, but I'm sorry that my writing had to be sacrificed to study. Readers, I love you all, thank you so much for your undying support. This is summer, and I'm now in France, I'll have internet for the next few weeks, and I have no internet blocks. I hope to have at least two more chapters up in the next three weeks.**

**Thank you,**

**Silex.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 31<p>

In Which Neville is Displeased

Nico's POV

_Oh gods, what have I gotten myself into?_ I thought furiously as I shadow-traveled away from the trio. _How can they not figure out that I'm a demigod?_

I reappeared in the charms corridor, which I knew would be empty, and walked the rest of the way to the great hall for dinner.

I sat down at my usual place next to Neville. "Hey, Nev," I said quietly.

Neville smiled at me. "Hey. What's with you?"

I shrugged. "I've just done something stupid."

Neville snorted. "You mean more stupid than usual?"

I glared at him. "Oh, shut up. I've promised Potter that I would bring him to see the big three and bargain for-"

"Bring him to WHO?" he asked, incredulous.

"You heard me the first time," I answered evenly.

Neville shook his head. "No, I don't think I did," he answered, eyes flashing, "because I think I heard you say that you were going to bring _Harry Potter_ to _our uncles_, which would mean telling him about our family, which isn't possible, because it's _illegal_ in the legion, which I will remind you that you are now a part of, and is punishable by a public flogging."

I nodded. "Yeah, you heard me the first time."

Neville stared at me for a few minutes as realization slowly dawned on his face. Once he had fully registered my statement, he looked at me, seeming both betrayed and perplexed. "You know I have no choice but to report this to the Praetors, right?"

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Nev. I won't ask you to lie, or betray the legion. I understood and accepted the consequences when I did what I did."

Neville looked down. "I can't do that to you, Nico…"

I pulled his shoulder so that he had to face me. "When you became a centurion, you told me that you didn't regret your actions and I had to deal with it. So now, I'm going to tell you: I accepted this. Deal with it, Neville."

Neville gave me a weak smile. "I guess," he said meekly, then lifted his chin proudly. "I'll inform the praetors of your actions then. Why does Harry need to go see them, anyways?"

I sighed. "I need them to allow him to use the scythe."

Neville suddenly went rigid as a board. "The scythe… _Whose_ scythe?"

"Kronos'", I said in almost a whisper. The room seemed to darken and the candle beside us flickered dangerously. We both shivered and quickly signed ourselves with a three-fingered claw, in the hopes of warding off the vestigial evil held in the name.

Neville nodded. "Unorthodox methods, but it could work. Where are you going to get it? It was destroyed."

I shook my head. "A weapon that powerful can't only exist in one plane, especially not the physical realm. The magical signature is so strong it was branded into its owner's soul."

Neville frowned. "Kronos' soul was crushed to dust and scattered through Tartarus. Even you wouldn't go there. You're not that foolish. You certainly wouldn't bring a mortal there."

I shook my head. "That was my question too, but then I remembered that Kro-_HE_ wasn't the only owner of the scythe."

Neville frowned. "Who-"

I sighed. "Well, Kronos had a human host. Technically, that host also owned the scythe."

Neville blinked. "So you mean you want to go to the underworld and get _his_ scythe from _Luke Castellan_?

I nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

Neville shook his head. "But, didn't Luke apply for rebirth?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Nasty luck, that. His parents got in a car crash, and he died. He's taking a break before he's reborn for the last time, waiting for the paperwork to go through. Hermes still has a bit of a daddy complex and wants to be his father again, and it's pissing my father off, because you know he doesn't take too well to having people interfering on his business."

Neville nodded, looking cautious. "Well, if you're sure that's a good idea…"

I snorted. "Good idea? This is the worst idea I've had in _months_."

Neville frowned. "Then why are you doing it?"

I shrugged guiltily. "Well, I may or may not have had a bottle and half of firewhiskey when I was thinking about what to do…"

Neville snorted. "Yeah, right."

I shook my head. "No, I'm dead serious. You remember that Finnegan was trying to figure out how to transfigure something into firewhiskey? He managed a few nights ago, and since I had just woken up from a nightmare, he gave me some. He kept on transfiguring it, so I just kept on drinking, and nest thing I knew, I was in Taiwan with a splitting headache."

"So _that's_ why you were missing all those days," he said.

I shrugged. "Well, it gave me this idea."

Neville sighed. "Hey, Nico," he said, "Promise you'll never drink again."

I snorted. "Oh, hell no," I answered, then stood. "Night, Neville. Send in your report, tell Jason that if he needs to get at me, it has to be tomorrow. The stake of the world is at hand, I can't afford to be late."


	33. In Which More Strangers Arrive

Chapter 32

In Which More Strangers Arrive

Harry's POV

The next morning, I went to breakfast with Ron and Hermione. We sat next to Nico, but he didn't seem to want to talk. When Neville walked in, he didn't sit next to Nico, as he usually did, just nodded at him and went to sit with Luna.

Nico shivered and nodded back, scratching uncomfortably at his right arm. His sleeve pulled up and I caught sight of a tattoo that was much too light to be the Dark Mark.

Before I could ask, the Great Hall doors slammed open with a bang, and Nico jumped about three feet, wheeling around to face the four individuals who had walked through it, organized in a tight square formation, and immediately flanked by two dogs, who seemed to be actually made of metal, one in silver, one in gold.

The four of them were heavily armed: The two in the back had long, deadly-looking spears and heavy armor, and both in the front had a hand on a sword at their side, gold and leather armor, and they both seemed to be wearing what looked suspiciously like deep purple _togas_ over their armor, only baring one shoulder. I couldn't see their faces, but I knew that at least one of them was a girl, because her hair was coming out the bottom of her helm.

The one in the front left corner of the formation turned towards the Ravenclaw table and barked: "Centurion!"

There was an instant movement at the Ravenclaw table, and after a second, Neville stood and walked with long strides until he stood directly in front of the formation.

"Centurion Longbottom present," he said loudly, then raised his right arm in a salute that looked disturbingly like a Roman _ave_. "Hail, praetors."

The two people in the front removed their helms. One was, as I had expected, a girl, with brown hair in a dark braid and piercing dark eyes. Her skin was dark, liked burnished bronze, complimented by the regal purple of her toga and the gleaming gold of her perfectly sculpted armor. The other was a boy, albeit a very tall one, with strong, chiseled features and tanned skin. His hair was sandy blonde and his hair was blonde, cropped short in a neat military cut. He had a small scar on his lip, and on his arm was a tattoo that I couldn't make out. I realized that all four of the strangers had similar tattoos on their right arms. He too wore a purple toga over gold-colored armor.

The girl spoke. "At ease, centurion."

Neville relaxed, although his feet were still solidly planted on the floor and his eyes were pointed at an invisible point directly above the strangers' heads. He clasped his arms behind his back.

The girl nodded. "The prisoner, is he present?" She asked sharply.

Neville nodded and gestured vaguely to our table. "He's over there," he said firmly.

She nodded and waved him off. "You're dismissed, Centurion."

Neville saluted again and left, bowing slightly, then sitting down next to Luna, placing his head in his hands.

The whole hall, by this point, was dead silent.

Dumbledore frowned and stood. "I must ask, children, who are you and what are you doing here?"

The boy glared. "It is the opinion of the senate of New Rome that that is not something that you need to know," he said coldly.

Dumbledore frowned, the twinkle in his eyes dimming with confusion, but the boy met his gaze with a steadfast glare, every line in his body screaming: _Fight me and you will die._

Dumbledore sat down, much to everyone's surprise.

Satisfied, the boy nodded at the girl that stood to his right. "Reyna, I trust you'll find him."

The girl, probably Reyna, gave him a particularly bloodthirsty smirk. "With pleasure," she said. She turned to the metal dogs that stood by her side and pointed at our table. "Find the king of ghosts," she said. "Bring him to me."

That said, she stood back, arms crossed, as her dogs bounded off, leaping over tables and splattering porridge over every imaginable surface.

They rocketed over the Ravenclaw table to the Slytherin table, stopped, and sniffed at the air, eyeing Draco Malfoy in a way that made him seem very uncomfortable.

But suddenly, they turned and leapt away, covering all the other tables until they reached the Gryffindor table, which had been mostly untouched until then, and skidded across it, stopping directly in front of me, their mechanic jaws baring lethal-looking teeth as they snarled. Their ruby eyes glowed as they sniffed at me, and I did my best to hold still, wondering if a stupefy would freeze their wiring.

It seemed that they would turn away, but suddenly, Reyna's voice cut through the stillness of the hall.

"Aurum, Argentum, Attack."


	34. In Which Jason is Pissed as Hell

**A/N: Here's another update guys! See how much faster things go on vacation with a plan on how to write?**

**I love you all for your updates, you're really pushing me along here. You are my muses, keep the reviews coming!**

**Anyways, I am fully aware that very few people read the A/N's anyways, but I will say to all those that care enough: I am considering putting a bit of romance in this story, because I'm a romance writer and that's what I do. I want to pair Nico with somebody. My original idea was Luna, but I like her with Neville, they're so cute together. I've decided that Reyna would do well with Nico. This has several downsides: The pair are so fiery and opposite that they'd probably rip each other apart. On the other hand, they're both broken, they both need help and a way to escape their own personal hells. This could turn out sweet and touching... and maybe a bit angsty, if I'm feeling generous. Anyways, there's a poll on my profile. If you took the time to read this whole A/N, you can probably spare a few minutes to click yes/no on my profile, right? Is that too much to ask?**

**This poll will be open for the next... let's say three or four chapters, but that's subject to change.**

**I love you all,**

**-Silex.**

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><p>Chapter 33<p>

In Which Jason is Pissed as Hell

Nico's POV

I'll admit it: when the dogs began to smell at Harry, I honestly considered shadow-traveling away to save my skin, and leaving Harry to be torn apart. Not very heroic, but it just might have worked.

Of course, the thought lasted only a moment, because the order to attack came loud and clear, and the dogs turned to me, snarled, and bounded towards me.

I did the only sensible thing:

I submitted.

I stood and walked towards the praetors, making no sudden movements to make sure that the dogs didn't think I was going to run away.

Argentum still bit at my calf, his silver teeth piercing my skin easily. I hissed in pain, but forced myself to keep walking. If I stopped, I knew that the damn dog would bite me again, and he'd make it hurt.

I reached the praetors and stood in front of them, saluting grudgingly. "Jason, can we take this somewhere else? You're kind of blowing my cover."

Jason, who was in full on 'I-am-your-praetor-don't-mess-with-me-or-you-will- die' mode, glared at me. "I don't think so, Nico. I think that it's time you were taught a lesson in respect and in hierarchy."

I frowned at him, confused. "Jason, what's going on?"

Jason glared. "That's _praetor_ to you," he snarled, "And you heard me. Or do I have to drown you in the little Tiber to clean out your ears?"

I frowned. "No, _praetor_," I hissed through clenched teeth. What was _with_ him today? Did he and Piper have a fight or something?

Jason nodded and pulled a scroll out of one of the many folds in his toga, unrolled it, and held it out as he read it off.

"Nico DiAngelo, legionnaire of the fifth cohort, first-generation half blood son of the lord of the dead who shall remain here unnamed, has been accused by centurion Longbottom of having revealed, attempted to reveal, or intended to reveal our people and our world to a mortal, however gifted. This is a crime punished by our law. Nico DiAngelo, do you understand the charges brought before you?"

I nodded, finally deciding to shut up and submit. "Yes, Praetor," I said monotonously, finally understanding. Jason had never trusted me: my knowing about both camps and not telling either of them anything had always been a sore spot for him, although he would never admit it. My mostly nomadic lifestyle and blatant disregard for orders I didn't agree with did nothing to improve matters. This was his chance to teach me that _he_ was the boss in this legion. I didn't mind that in and of itself: I had a problem with him doing this in front of _the entire school_. Why is it that these things only happen in front of crowds?

I returned my attention to Jason's monologue.

"Do you admit to your crimes against the Twelfth Legion _Fulminata_, or do you deny them, in the knowledge that should you be tried and found guilty, you will be additionally charged and convicted of high treason against your legion and your superiors, a sentence that warrants death by public stoning?"

I blinked. _Well_, I thought, _at least he's clear about it…_ "I admit to my actions, but I deny that they were crimes against the legion. There was no other way," I defended.

Reyna glared at me. "It does not concern us whether or not you intended harm against the legion. Our word is law, and it has been said that our people were not to be revealed to _anybody_, wizard or mortal. However unknowingly, you have put us _all_ at risk. We cannot let such a crime pass. You believe that because you belong to neither world, the laws of the legion do not apply to you. This must be remedied before you tear us down from the inside."

"I cause no harm," I answered stonily.

Reyna broke formation (Which I didn't think she was even capable of doing) and marched towards me, grabbing my right arm and ripping up my sleeve, forcing me to stare at the burned symbols on my right arm.

"This is the symbol of the Twelfth Legion _Fulminata_," she snarled. "It was given to you by our former augur, Octavian, Elysium take his soul. You understood your oath and accepted this brand as a mark of your eternal service and loyalty to us. As your praetors, we are not obliged to hear your words. You will listen, you will obey. We do not ask you to think. You are nothing, do you understand me? You are _nothing_ but a sword, a lowly legionnaire who just got his first stripe. You have no head, you have no heart. You have an arm to carry sword and spear, you have legs to march in formation, one of many soldiers just like you. You have powers to protect your cohort, not yourself. You have ears to follow orders blindly. Do you understand what I am telling you, _legionnaire_?"

I stared at her for a few moments, unsure of how to answer. I decided it would be safest not to answer at all. Jason didn't like me much, but he had developed some respect for me after the whole _doors of death_ debacle. It didn't hurt that Piper liked me well enough, and knew how to temper her boyfriend's dislike for me. Reyna, on the other hand, was, if possible, even more roman than Jason, and absolutely _hated_ me with a burning passion. I suspected that it was because she couldn't fit me into one of her nice little boxes: I wasn't roman, that was clear, but I wasn't Greek, not really. I was my father's lackey, a wanderer. For her, I was a wild card; a gift that she wasn't sure would help her or blow up in her face. I stood for everything that she feared would tear down her precious legion. I was unpredictable, and that made me dangerous.

Why did girls that hated me always have to be so damn hot, anyways? First Thalia, then Annabeth, then Reyna… oh, the world just had it in for me, didn't it?

Impatient, Reyna dropped my hand and placed her dagger at my throat. "I _will not_ ask you again, legionnaire. Do you understand what I am telling you?"

I nodded as much as I was able without slitting my own throat. "Yes, praetor," I said. "I understand."

"Reyna," Jason said in a hard tone, "Patience. Now is not the time."

_Time for what?_ I thought dimly, but knew better than to speak.

Grudgingly, Reyna backed away, but not before leaving a small cut at my throat, just enough to sting and draw a drop of crimson blood.

A warning, I could tell.

What did I tell you? Hot as Hades' fire. And totally willing to murder me in my sleep. What more could you ask for in a girl?

Jason continued speaking. "Do you accept the punishment for your crimes?"

I nodded. "Yes, praetor."

Jason nodded. "Very well."

He nodded to one of the legionnaires behind him. "Take him."

The legionnaire walked forwards, stared at me for a few minutes, then said: "Sorry, Nico."

I only had time to register that it was Hazel beneath the helm before the pommel of her _Spatha_ connected with my head. Starbursts of pain exploded behind my eyes for a second before the world went black.


	35. In Which the Strangers are Welcome

**A/N: Hey guys! Thank you so much for the reviews. I'm going to camp soon, and I don't think I'll have internet access, so PLEASE don't throw virtual tomatoes (which look like this: **(X)** ) or any other vegetable, for that matter. Thank you for your constant support, I'll be sure to write lots of chapters to update regularly as soon as camp is out! (At the very worst case, I'll be in camp until the fourth of next month, and then I'll be on a plane, but then I'm back on the weekend after! I'll probably update before that though.)**

**The voting on Nico/Reyna is still open, PLEASE vote!**

**Thanks,**

**-Silex.**

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><p>Chapter 34<p>

In Which the Strangers are Welcome

Harry's POV

The girl who had knocked Nico unconscious immediately backed away, leaving place for Reyna to step forward and flip him over with the toe of her leather sandals.

She eyed him for a moment before chuckling darkly. "Hey, Hazel," she said, her voice entirely too cheery for somebody who had just been holding a knife to a boy's throat, "Your brother's almost cute when he's not mouthing me off. Makes me almost not want to kill him."

"And what a loss _that_ would be," snorted the other guard behind her.

Hazel whirled around and whipped off her helm, silky ebony curls tumbling out around an angelic, bronze-skinned face and shimmering golden eyes. "Don't you _dare_ talk about my brother like that, Bill. He's twice the hero you'll ever be."

Jason sighed loudly. "Hazel, _calm down_. Now is not the time to be losing our heads."

Hazel glared furiously at the boy, her face making her thoughts quite clear: _this isn't over._

Still, she took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, Jason," she said dutifully.

Jason nodded. "Can I trust the two of you to run damage control before Nico's return?"

The pair nodded. "Sure," said Bill.

Jason frowned, seemingly sensing that this was _way_ too easy. "_Without_ tearing each other apart?"

Hazel blinked, and I was sure that under his helm, Bill was doing the same. Hazel turned to Bill, stared at him for a few moments, then marched up to him, ripped off his helm, and planted a solid punch in his face, bruising his pale skin.

Bill let out a shout of pain and staggered back, clutching his bloody nose.

"That was from Nico," she spat.

She turned back to Jason. "_Now_, you can," she said sweetly.

Jason sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I mean it, you two. I hear a word from _anybody_ about bad conduct, I will not hesitate to have you fight it out in an arena. You know as well as I that only one comes out alive."

The pair shivered. "Yes, sir," they chorused.

Jason nodded and stepped forwards, turning to the head table. "Who is the leader of this… what is this? An army?" **(A/N: I know most people don't read the A/Ns at the top, so it's here: I have a poll on my profile page on whether or not I should pair Nico with Reyna. Look at chapter 34 for my reasoning. Please vote.)**

Dumbledore stood. "I am the headmaster of this school," he said.

Jason nodded. "A school. I see. That certainly complicates matters. With your permission, I would like to station two of our officials here, so that we may assess the damage done by the Ghost King. I apologize in advance for anything that he has done."

Dumbledore frowned. "I do not understand your intentions, my boy."

Jason shook his head. "These two will judge whether or not there are any intentions to have. I would like your permission to station them here, to keep certain… _others_… in line." He threw a hateful glare at the Slytherin table. Several seemed to try to shrink, including, I noted with glee, a certain blonde Malfoy.

Dumbledore shook his head. "My boy, I'm afraid that I cannot allow intruders without just reason."

Jason sighed and stepped forwards a few more steps, showing his arms to the headmaster. Being very close to him, I saw sixteen tally marks, a glyph, an eagle, and the letters SPQR.

"Considering your age, I'm sure that this is all the reason you need. All we want is to station these two legionnaires here, to prevent some here from interfering with the _Pax Romana_. I'm sure you understand the necessity."

Dumbledore stared at the marks for a long time, then nodded. "Of course. I understand now. Feel free to station your defenses here. However, I must ask you to please leave as soon as possible. You are spreading panic among our students. I was under the impression that such interferences between worlds were forbidden."

Jason smiled. "Of course, headmaster. Even a praetor bows before authority. I had nothing to do with these intrusions. You have only Nico's father to blame. My own patron has played dangerous games, but not to such a scale. The lord of the underworld is meddling in affairs that do not concern him. This is angering the others. That is all I have gathered. I will certainly keep you posted on any other important developments." He turned to the other professors. "I assume you are also officials of authority. Please, by all means, should my soldiers do anything… _untoward_, do not hesitate to punish them with a heavy hand, or report their actions to me so that I may do so. I will not have my soldiers tarnishing the name of their legion." He turned to the three behind him. "Hazel, Bill, you're staying here. If too much has come to light, you have New Rome's permission to use the mist as you see fit and veil what they have seen. You may consider yourself warned that insubordination will be dealt with harshly. There will be no other warnings, understood?"

The pair nodded. "Yes, sir," they chorused.

Reyna and Jason bent down to pick up the still-unconscious Nico, and marched wordlessly out of the hall, flanked by the metal dogs, leaving Hazel and Bill standing awkwardly in the middle of the hall.

Dumbledore smiled at them. "Have you eaten yet, children?"

They seemed vaguely offended at being called _children_, but shook their heads. "No, sir," Hazel said uncomfortably, bending down to pick up something that looked like a piece of green glass from the ground.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled madly. "Then I invite you to feast with us tonight. Welcome to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry."


	36. In Which Reyna Smiles

**A/N: Oops! Forgot to put this chapter in! Sorry! This one's super important, thanks for going back to read it!**

**-Silex.**

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><p>Chapter 35<p>

In Which Reyna Smiles

Nico's POV

I awoke to a bucketful of ice water to my face and instantly jumped up with a shout.

It took me a few moments to gather my senses and look over at the person who had soaked me.

Reyna was holding an empty bucket and staring at me with an absolutely expressionless face. "Wake up," she spat. "It's already seven."

I groaned and leaned back against the wall. "What the fuck was that for, Reyna?" I yelled, wiping away some water that trickled from my hair into my eyes.

Reyna glared at me, dropped the bucket to the floor with a metallic _clang_, and took out a knife, stepping forward and holding it to my throat.

"Jason isn't here to save you this time," she snarled.

I knew to hold still: I was smart enough to realize that she did honestly intend to kill me if I resisted.

"I don't like you, DiAngelo," she said. "I don't like what your actions mean for my legion. Do you even begin to _understand_ how much danger you have put us all in?"  
>I glared. "Well, if you had let me <em>explain<em>, you would know that there was _no other way_. I'm not so stupid as to betray the gods if there's some other alternative. I have to tell Harry, the fate of his world depends on it. I intend to wipe his memory after. Properly, too, with magic, not just the Mist."

Reyna kept her icy glare on me. "I don't care about that, _Graecus_," she spat. "I don't care if it was for the best, I don't care if no damage is done. What I care about is that you don't follow orders when they are given to you. Laws and hierarchy are the only thing that keep this legion together, and you are disobeying both."

I sighed. "Reyna, can't you at least _try_ to think of it from my point of view?"

Reyna glared at me. "I can't. What choice have you left me? If the legionnaires decide that they do not need to follow orders because there was no repercussion for you, then I just may have a full-blown rebellion on my hands. Don't think I'm deluded into believing that this entire legion follows my orders just because they like me. I'm not a well-liked person, I know that. The legion follows Jason because he is the son of Jupiter, and he is quite the… _charismatic _leader, but they follow me out of fear. My place is far too precarious to let you undermine my authority. Do you understand now why I have to do this, Nico?"

Nico.

She'd called me Nico.

She'd never called me anything but Legionnaire or DiAngelo before, sometimes _Graecus_ if she was feeling particularly homicidal; why was she calling me Nico all of a sudden?

I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind and nodded. "I guess I understand, but I still think it's dumb."

The last few words just slipped out before I could stop them. I closed my eyes and shrank back, waiting for her to either slit my throat or carve pretty designs on my face with her knife. After all, nobody, _especially_ not me, was allowed to question Reyna's orders, and definitely not say out loud that those orders were dumb.

Instead, Reyna just shook her head and removed the knife from my throat. "The law of gravity's dumb, DiAngelo. That doesn't mean we can fight it."

With that, she turned quickly, leaving me just the time to see the lightest of smiles dancing about the corners of her mouth before she left, closing the door behind her. I heard a metallic grinding as a metal bar was slid into place to keep it shut.

Alone, I took in my surroundings. It took me quite a while to realize that this was the _Nova Carcere_, the 'new prison', which I had never even entered before. It was a room that had been carved out of the side of Mount Diablo, utterly inescapable, even if I did manage to break through the cast-iron door: Behind the door there was nothing at all, merely a tunnel that went straight up until it reached the surface in an opening the size of a manhole. It was the only way up or down, and I knew it would be impossible to escape.

I had admitted to my 'crime', as Reyna called it. A confession, as I had so foolishly forgotten, meant that I would be given no trial (Why waste time on a trial when you already know the convict's guilty?), and damn it, that punishment would hurt like hell. After all, it was written in Polybius, The Histories, Volume III that disobedience was punished in the legion by a public flogging in front of the century, cohort, or legion.

Oh, well, that's just fan-fucking-tastic, isn't it?

I looked in vain around the single cell (New Rome had very nearly no prisoners and all punishments were swift and physical, there was no reason to waste time and resources on making several cells) for something to distract me: My ADHD was screaming at me to do _something_ because I was bored as all Hades.

Unfortunately, there was nothing to do: I had no choice but to wait for my sentence to be carried out. That, I knew, could take days, weeks, even months, if the powers-that-be decided so.

The _lares_ were right: the imprisonment was just as bad as the punishment.


	37. In Which Hazel Blushes

**Hey guys!**

**Sorry for the wait, I'm back home with my usual internet blocks which means I can only update on weekends, and on top of that, I haven't had time to write much. I hope you like this chapter.**

**Also, a warning; next chapter will be tearful: You're going to hate me for hurting poor Nico, but it must be done, and that's all the justification I will give for my actions. MY MUSE DEMANDS BLOOD! (Sorry.)**

**Love,**

**Silex.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 36<p>

In Which Hazel Blushes

Harry's POV

The evening that the strangers arrived marked an extremely confusing dinner.

The two new people, Hazel and Bill, were not sorted but nevertheless sat together at the Gryffindor table. They were soon joined by Neville, and the three began an amicable conversation, in a language that sounded eerily like a series of spells.

Ron and I looked at Hermione expectantly, waiting for her to enlighten us as to what the language was.

She frowned. _Latin,_ she mouthed at us, then turned to the trio. "Hey, Hazel, you're Nico's brother, right?"

Hazel stopped mid-word and stared at Hermione. "Why do you want to know?" she asked, suspicion lacing her voice.

Hermione lifted her hands slightly in a surrendering gesture. "No reason, it's just that… when McGonagall tried to confiscate his arrow, he said it had belonged to his sister, and that his sister was dead, but you're clearly very much alive," she took a deep breath and plunged on, "and he has a picture, too, of his sister, I saw it on the train, well, I didn't see the picture itself, but I saw that it was a picture, he put it away too fast, and… I'm rambling," she said, ducking her head sheepishly.

Hazel smiled kindly. "Don't worry, it's fine," she said, her voice rich and smooth. "Nico can be… a lot to process. He's a confusing person. He must have been talking about his other sister, though, his full sister. It's a touchy subject for him. Her name was Bianca. She died young, working with faulty machinery. She was fourteen when she was killed, Nico was twelve."

"Oh," Hermione said, "That's horrible! What was she doing around faulty machinery anyways? It isn't safe! Didn't Nico and Bianca's parents keep her away?"

Hazel shook her head. "I'm sure that if we had normal parents, that would have happened. Unfortunately, our father is… less than a supportive guardian, as I'm certain Nico has told you, and he used to be much worse. Before I knew Nico, he was _awful_. After Bianca died, he always told Nico that if he'd died instead of her, things would be better. I like to think he's mellowed out a bit."

The faintest of tremors shook the room, making the pumpkin juice in our goblets ripple.

"Sorry," Hazel muttered, then continued. "He was much kinder when I first knew him, but then he turned bitter. That's when Nico knew him, and that's quite a shame. Bianca was the only mother-figure Nico knew, she raised him after his mother died."

Hermione frowned, "What are you people doing here? What do you want with Nico? He looked really scared, is he going to get hurt?"

Hazel stiffened for a second and looked at her. "Nico broke one of our most ancient laws when he told you about our family. That cannot go unpunished. It's like forgiving a murderer."

"Your family?" I asked curiously, "What about it? Voledmort can't have that much of a family, can he?"

Hazel frowned. "Who's Voldemort?" She asked dumbly.

I blinked. "Well, that's Nico's father, isn't it? I mean, that's what he's told us, why would he lie about having an evil overlord bent on destroying wizardkind as a father?"

Bill interrupted. "_Fuck_," he breathed in realization, "That means he's innocent, doesn't it?"

Hazel flamed a bright Weasely red and fanned her face as if she needed air. "Bill!" she chastised, "Language!"

"No," Neville interrupted. "He's guilty. He hasn't said it yet, he's going to when he gets back. Jason and Reyna are doing more of a preventive strike, in case Nico gets killed before he's judged."

Hazel frowned. "That's utterly unfair," she said, "Punishing someone for a crime they haven't commited yet!"

Neville shrugged. "Well, you know the law. The intent is more than half the crime. He's lucky that I defended his motives, he just gets a punishment for insubordination and disrespect. Betraying the, erm," he eyed us for a minute, "_Domini_, would usually constitute a crime of premeditated treason, and the punishment for that, well…" He broke off and the three shivered.

"What?" I asked. "What's the punishment for that?"

Bill shrugged carelessly. "Generally, it involves being put into a sack of poisonous snakes and thrown into a river. Pretty awful way to die, if you want to know the truth of it."

Neville snorted. "Pretty awful? Did you _see _Octavian's execution? It was _nasty_. And they didn't even have the common courtesy to use proper snakes, they used _weasels_. Thank goodness for small mercies that the bag was already red when Octavian got thrown in."

"And that they put him in the river fast enough that he didn't scream _too_ long," Hazel added, looking ill. She pushed her plate away. "Gee, thanks, Neville, I had a good appetite before we got to that subject."

Neville grinned. "Always glad to help."

Hazel glared at him, then stared at Bill, who was gorging himself on mashed potatoes.

She groaned and put her head in her hands. "Does _nothing_ make you stop eating, Bill?"

"Whha?" he asked, mouth full. "-ifs 'ood!"

Hazel stared at him in awe for a few seconds than looked at Ron, who was doing the same. "Oh," she mumbled, "So it's boys in general, not just him."

Hermione just smiled helplessly at the ebony-skinned girl.

"Wait just a minute!" I said, turning to Neville. "Neville, when did you see an execution anyways? What's going on?"

Neville looked at me with a shrewd look that seemed out of place on his rounded features. "Nico will tell you that if-_when_ he comes back," he said. "I can't explain anything, and neither can Hazel or Bill, because none of us are particularly keen on being thrown into a sack of snakes, _or_ weasels, for that matter, and thrown into a river." He stood. "Bill, Hazel, Allow me to show you to your rooms. Hazel, did you bring Arion?"

Hazel made a face. "You think I could keep him away if I wanted to?" she asked. "Of course I did. He ran off into the woods, I figure he can handle himself anyways."

Neville nodded. "Students aren't allowed into the forest, it's full of nasty creatures, like the woods on Long Island. Don't go in to find him tomorrow, tell him to come. Anyways, how long are you staying?"

Bill shrugged. "As long as it takes to repair the damage."

Neville shook his head. "Nico didn't do any damage. Stay however long it takes to convince the praetors that all is well, then go. This school doesn't need any more problems." He shrugged. "But you'd better meet the others."

"Others?" Hazel asked. Which others?"

Neville shook his head. "Not here," he said firmly. "We'll discuss this tomorrow. I'll have Lou Ellen call a meeting; she's the only one with ties to the Slytherins. Come on, you must be tired."

With that, the three walked out of the great hall.


	38. In Which Hell Hath No Fury

**A/N: I love you people! Thanks for all the reviews!**

**This is the one you've all been scared of. Nico's in for a world of pain, please don't hate me, it had to be done.**

**In other news, I have decided to pair Nico with Reyna. After adding all the votes, including the ones in reviews, both sides were pretty much even, and since I _really_ wanted to try this, I decided the hell with the poll and that's that. I am, however, open to suggestions as to what should happen and all.**

**PLEASE DON'T KILL ME, I'M SO SORRY I'M DOING THIS TO NICO, DON'T KILL ME, OR AT LEAST HAVE THE COMMON DECENCY TO KILL ME IN A REVIEW!**

**Love,**

**Silex.**

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><p>Chapter 37<p>

In Which Hell Hath No Fury Like a Praetor Scorned

Nico's POV

Fortunately for my ADHD, the praetors decided to only leave me one day in the cells.

Two armed guards came in to get me, their faces covered by their helmets so I couldn't see who they were, and forced me forwards at _pilum_-point.

Most of the fifth cohort was there, and most of them didn't look particularly happy about it, which I figured was a good thing. Screaming for my blood would generally make my life more painful.

I caught Frank's eye in the crowd and he gave me a sympathetic look.

I stood there silently as they removed my shirt and led me up the steps of the hastily constructed platform. I was glad they'd had the common courtesy to leave my pants on, which I knew the old legion wouldn't have bothered with. Then again, the old legion didn't have girls.

Seated at a table a few yards away were Reyna and Jason, looking grim and formal with their ceremonial imperial gold armor covered by identical purple togas.

I didn't bother resisting as I let them pull my arms up and tie them to the poles by my side. The restraints were made of rough-braided rope, the kind that would hold against any force. I was sure that by the time that I would be let down, they would be raw and bruised for days.

When I saw the whip, I closed my eyes in fear.

I'd known that the punishment was a flogging, but I had assumed that the whip would be your classic drivers' whip: a length of braided leather, maybe two or three feet long.

I hadn't expected _this_. It wasn't a whip, not a real one. It wasn't made for a punishing beating. It was a classic roman _flagrum_, the short whip. A whip used on slaves and criminals.

I shivered, remembering that the _flagrum_ was also used on people who had been sentenced to death by crucifixion.

The whip consisted of several strips of leather, all of different lengths. I knew, having seen them in the Fields of Punishment, that embedded in these straps were small pieces of glass. All the strips were evenly spaced along a wooden ring, to keep the straps from tangling when they were slick with blood. At the end of each strap was a ball of lead a bit bigger than an acorn studded with jagged pieces of sheep bone and metal. The thing made a british cat-o-nine-tails look like a baby's rattle. I couldn't bear to look at it, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. In a horribly morbid sort of way, the whip was fascinating, maybe even beautiful.

The guy holding the whip moved out of my line of sight, so I directed my attention to glaring as hard as I could at my stone-faced praetors, who stared right back with their chins high. After a momentary battle of wills, I let my head drop in defeat. I noticed Reyna's self-satisfied smirk and sighed internally. _Hell hath no fury…_ I thought.

There was no fury in me, that was for sure. I was defeated, and I could admit it. Tied between these poles with my torso bare, I was helpless, at the mercy of my praetors' whims, and that was utterly humiliating, being beaten like a common slave.

I'm no stranger to pain.

I've taken in Kampe's poison. I've fought in countless battles. I've been held under Bellatrix Lestrange's cruciatus curse. I've travelled from one end to the other of Tartarus, for heaven's sake.

But none of that compared with what it felt like when that whip descended on my bare back.

The metal beads dug into my back, and I could feel the shock travel up my spine and clear to the base of my skull. The leather stung like a thousand bees all at once, all in a series of straight lines across my flesh.

That was bearable. That, I could handle.

What I _couldn't_ handle was the bone, the sharpened bone that punctured my flesh as though it were made of butter.

I didn't even bother holding back the roar of agony that ripped through my lungs.

There was a moment's respite after the first blow, just enough time for me to take a deep breath and try to calm down.

The second blow was in the other direction, over my shoulderblades. I let out another roar of pain.

There was another crack, another blow of searing fire that raced along my back. The world narrowed to me, the whip, and the _agony_. My muscles spasmed, and that made it hurt even more. My body twisted on its own accord, trying desperately to escape the agony that tore through me, that deafening crack of leather on flesh. My throat went raw as my shouts turned into screams.

I stopped counting the lashes. What good would it do? I didn't know how many there would be.

There was another short pause, when the first guy's arm got tired. He switched out with the other one that had brought me from the prison.

My legs gave out and my body hung limply from the two poles I was still tied to. The flogging had cut my back into rags of torn flesh, dripping blood like red dye. I felt blood trickle from my wounds down my back; hot, and wet, and stinging. It collected at my feet, and I slipped, my feet falling out behind me.

The beating continued, with renewed vigour.

I let myself scream. I didn't even bother trying to hold myself up.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, but I was beyond caring; I knew nobody would judge me on this: They would be doing the same in my position.

Finally, letting go of my very last shred of dignity, I turned my tear-stained face back to my praetors. "PLEASE!" I shouted, the end of the word turning into a scream as the whip descended on my back yet again. "PLEASE! PLEASE, MAKE IT STOP!"

Jason stared at me, his face set in grim coldness. When I looked over to Reyna, I saw that she had her face turned away from me.

"REYNA!" I screamed, beseeching her, begging shamelessly for something, _anything_ that would make the pain go away. "REYNA, PLEASE! YOU'LL KILL ME! PLEASE, MAKE IT STOP!"

Reyna looked like she was about to get up, but Jason laid a hand on her lap and shook his head at her, then turned his face back to me.

I continued begging, screaming, until my voice gave out, and even then, I screamed, breath torturing through my raw throat, only the faintest of sounds coming out.

Reyna seemed determined to look at everything but me. Her face was blank, but her eyes swirled with an emotion so alien on her that I couldn't place it.

I didn't know how long the flogging lasted, but it felt like an eternity. Spots danced around my blurry vision, first sickly yellow, then black. The edges of my vision were tinged red, and I felt myself falling into unconsciousness when suddenly, a dim voice (Even sounds had started to blur together) said: "Stop."

The whip stopped immediately, and I looked up to see the blur that must be Reyna standing. "That's enough," she said, her voice oddly quiet, but still ringing in the dead silence.

"Reyna," hissed Jason in a warning tone, "He's not _finished_."

"I believe that he has learned his lesson," she answered. "There's no need to waste time in continuing. Frank, please release him and help him down. Bring him to the barracks and dress his wounds. The rest of you are dismissed."

Frank ascended the steps, and I felt his hands working on the knots that bound my raw wrists. As soon as I was released, my legs gave out again and I collapsed, but Frank held me up and helped me down the steps and across the _via praetoria_ to the barracks.

He helped me sit down and called over a son of Apollo to dress my wounds. A spoonful of ambrosia was pressed against my lips, and I swallowed. It tasted, as usual, of hot chocolate, the kind that Bianca used to make at the lotus casino, with extra chocolate, a dash of cinnamon, and a few drops of honey. I felt it warming me, pushing my system to heal a bit faster, but I also knew that I couldn't risk eating more of it, and that although it worked on most injuries, cuts to the flesh like this weren't in the realm of what ambrosia did. Fortunately, it would help with the bruising my bones had received from the metal beads.

The Apollo kid spread a disgusting-smelling paste on my back that made it burn like hellfire, then wrapped my back and chest with clean linen wrapping.

"That's all I can do," he said apologetically. "I'll give you a jar of the poultice, but it's going to take a while to heal. No heavy labour or fighting for at least six weeks."

I didn't have the strength to nod, and unknown hands helped me to my bunk and lay me down, putting a blanket on me.

"Don't worry," said the Apollo kid, "we'll do all we can, but you have to leave tomorrow. Sleep now."

He touched my forehead and the world went black.


	39. In Which Harry does nothing

**A/N: Hi guys! Thanks for all the hate mail, I love you! SPECIAL THANKS to Lightningscar for writing a review so long it didn't fit on the email they sent me! The next chapter is for you.**

**I wanted to do something with this next chapter, but it turned out to be a dud, so I'm skipping this Harry's POV and getting to Nico's in the next chapter. Thought I'd give you fair warning.**

**Lightningscar raised a few important questions: I don't know them by heart, but I remember some of them, and will attempt to answer them, in no particular order.**

**1) Nico follows his father's orders. Why would he join the legion anyways?**

**Nico's father ordered him to do it because he needed an insider in the legion, for reasons unknown. Hazel is a daughter of Pluto, so she doesn't count.**

**2) Camp Half-Blood is indeed an independent camp, so why is the legion dealing with a greek? **

**Nico is a part of both. Technically, what he did fell in the jurisdiction of the legion, because it was a legion law he broke. Percy can and will try to intervene, but there's little he can do without making it a political issue.**

**Other questions? Reactions? Hating me for leaving yet another A/N? Please tell me.**

**Love you all,**

**Silex.**


	40. In Which Nico is Confused as Hades

**A/N: Hi guys! Thanks for the reviews, and sorry about the A/N, I hate those too, but I had to put something down.**

**Just a reminder that I'm skipping Harry's POV./**

**Also, this is the beginning of the Nico/Reyna (Couple names? Nina? Reyco? Something else? You tell me.) It's just a bit of mild fluff. I'm trying to build a bit of tension, but I'm also trying to avoid my usual love at first sight problem.**

**I'm taking suggestions on this pairing and how they should react!**

**Thanks,**

**Silex.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 38<p>

In Which Nico is Confused as Hades

Nico's POV (Skipping Harry)

When I awoke, I couldn't feel my back, which was just fine by me, when I considered the alternative.

I flexed my muscles and a shot of pain struck the base of my skull, where the anesthesia stopped. I closed my eyes again and lay there, thankful that whoever had brought me to the infirmary had thought to put me on my stomach, not my back.

As I closed my eyes, I finally noticed the conversation going on behind the cloth screen that shielded my bed from prying eyes.

"-Couldn't," Said Reyna's voice. She sounded different than usual. Her voice wasn't it's usual assertive growl. It was soft and quiet. If I hadn't known Reyna, I would have called it gentle. I held back a snort at the thought. Reyna and gentle simply didn't go together, unless accompanied by the word 'not'.

Jason answered her. "It had to be done," He said. "You interfered. You made them stop."

Reyna sounded like she didn't even have the strength to be angry. "He was dying, Jason," she said. "We agreed he had to be taught a lesson, not be tortured to death."

Jason sounded incredulous. "If I'm not mistaken, you're the one that insisted it be done. Something along the lines of 'he should feel the worst of pains, only then will he understand the consequences of his actions'?"

I blinked. So all of this... it was _Reyna's_ fault?

Somehow, I was only slightly surprised.

Reyna sighed, and I heard a chair scraping as she sat down. "I didn't know what it would be like," she said softly. "I didn't realize how he would scream..."

Jason sighed. "It's for the good of New Rome. Allowing people like Nico to remain unpunished is what ripped down the old legion. We can't let it happen this time."

Reyna's voice shook. "But he was _screaming_," she said. "He _begged_ us to stop. And what they did to him... It was _disgusting_, Jason. How could you watch that? How could you stand to do that to _anybody_? You just stared right at him, you didn't even look bothered."

Jason sighed again. "Reyna, I've been a part of the legion for more than fifteen years. I've grown up in this environment. You've been one of us for just five years. Of course you can't handle it as well as I can. You're an amazing leader, Reyna, one of the best fighters here. That doesn't mean you don't have a conscience. Just know that it was for the best. He'll never question our orders again."

Reyna let out a small scream of fury and I heard a crack of flesh on flesh and guessed she'd slapped him. "_How could you_?" She screamed. "_He was SCREAMING! He was being TORTURED, and you don't even CARE! He's a human being, a human being, and you watched him being beaten mercilessly! I saw you, Jason Grace! You smiled! You SMILED! And now, all you have to say is that he'll never question our orders again? Have you no humanity, no mercy at all?_"

There was a loud snarl that I knew came from an enraged Jason Grace. "Don't pretend to know what I'm thinking, Reyna," he spat. "Don't think I felt no remorse for what we did to him. But it had a purpose, and that purpose was accomplished. _Iactura paucorum serva multos._"

I translated it quickly in my head. _Sacrifice the __few__ to save the __many._

Reyna snarled. "And now one of the most powerful demigods in history has become one of your _few_?"

"Watch yourself, Reyna," Jason said, "One might think you've got feelings for the boy."

Reyna stopped short, stuttered for a moment, then stilled. "Don't be ridiculous, Jason," she said coolly, "I wouldn't date Nico if he were the last man on earth."

There it was again, my name falling from her lips. It felt so strange, coming from her.

"Since when do you call him Nico?" Jason questioned.

"Since I saw him almost bleed to death through my fault," she answered. "Now, I'm going in to see him before he goes back."

Jason sighed. "Fine," he said. "go ahead."

I heard him begin to walk away, and he stopped in the doorway. "Reyna," He said, "make sure he's okay, will you? I don't like him, but he's my cousin, and I respect him. If we weren't proving a point, I never would have done that to him. Take care of him."

Reyna was silent for a moment before she spoke again, her voice strong and even. "I will. Don't worry."

Jason chuckled and walked away.

As soon as I heard my cloth being pulled back, I shut my eyes and evened out my breathing, pretending to be asleep.

I heard Reyna's light footsteps approaching me. The bed dipped as she sat down beside me.

I didn't let myself move, I focused all my energy on calming my heart rate. I wanted to know what she'd do if I were asleep.

My question was soon answered.

She gently brushed a strand of hair from my face. I noticed that her hand lingered longer than it needed to on my cheek.

"I'm awake, you know," I mumbled, deciding to end the charade.

She flinched only barely, startled, but quickly recovered. "How are you feeling, DiAngelo?"

"I've just been beaten half to death, how do you think I'm feeling?" I hissed, taking a grim satisfaction in her more pronounced flinch.

She stood. "Jason was right," she muttered to herself, "This was stupid."

She began to walk away. "The laws of New Rome require that you remain outside of the encampment for the next week. You may return to England, if you wish. You may stay here only until the anesthesia wears off."

"Wait," I croaked, my windpipe feeling raw from yesterday's screams. I was surprised by how gravelly and croaky my voice was. I sounded like death.

No pun intended.

Reyna turned around, still refusing to look at me. "What is it, DiAngelo? I haven't got all day."

Ah, there was our old Reyna back. "Why did you spare me?" I asked.

Reyna stopped short. "What?"

"You heard me," I answered. My voice was beginning to get used to speaking again. It was firmer, more even.

Reyna sighed. "I overestimated myself," she said. "I believed that I would be able to watch without feeling any guilt. I was wrong. I am truly sorry for what you went through, Nico. If I'd known... I never would have even considered it. You have to understand," Her voice was pleading now, "I was so _angry_. I wanted to hurt you, Nico. I wanted to kill you for making the legion doubt me. I was so angry at you for that..." She broke off. "I let my hatred for you cloud my judgment. I'm sorry for what I've done to you."

"You're not answering my question," I said. "I didn't ask if you were sorry. I asked why you stopped them. You hate me, Reyna. I know that. Why did you let them stop? You knew Jason would stop them before I died."

She sat down beside me. I scooted over to give her more room. "I couldn't stand to see you being tortured like that," she confessed. "It was too horrible to see. I heard you screaming, and I could practically feel every lash on my own back. I had to make it stop, or I would have lost my mind."

I chuckled. "Jason's right, Reyna," I said with a grin. "People might think you like me."

Reyna stood up, looking... not quite angry, but it wasn't a smile, that was for sure. "You're lucky you're already injured, DiAngelo, or I'd carve up your back myself for that comment."

Still, I couldn't miss the way that she stared me right in the eyes and smiled, a joking glint in her eye.

Something in me fluttered. I pushed it down quickly.

I chuckled as she turned and left. "Reyna," I called back once she'd reached the screen.

"_Yes_, DiAngelo?" She asked exasperatedly.

I looked at her, dead serious. "Thank you," I said sincerely.

Reyna nodded. "You're welcome," she said, then left, without a shadow of her old smile on her face.

I could almost believe I'd imagined it, but no dream could conjure up such a beautiful thing. Reyna's smile had burned itself into my head, and try as I might to remove it, whenever I closed my eyes, I could see the way her entire face had lit up as the corners of her mouth pulled upwards.

I groaned and buried my face into my pillow.

This was going to be a long day, wasn't it?


	41. In Which Harry Finds Out

**A/N: Hello my faithful readers!**

**I may not post for a week or so, junior year is harder than I expected it to be. Sorry. I promise I'll do all I can to write.**

**Anyways, Due to a good amount of people telling me that I was being altogether too mean to Jason, I decided to give him an excuse. Virtual cookies to whoever can figure out what's wrong with him!**

**Love you,**

**Silex.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 39<p>

In Which Harry Finds Out

Harry's POV

Nico returned to us at the beginning of the winter hols, and by that, I mean that he arrived exactly at the beginning: he stumbled into the common room at midnight, during the start-of-winter party in the Gryffindor common room.

Few, if any, noticed him at all: The portrait swung open silently and closed seconds later.

Considering the worried looks that Neville, Bill, Hazel, and Lou Ellen had been shooting each other for the past two days, I had quite honestly expected Nico to come back either dead or dying, or at the very least, covered in blood.

Well, he _did_ look exhausted, and he _was_ hunched over in apparent pain. He was leaning all his eight on what looked like a hospital-issue cane that braced against his forearm. However, the only visible evidence of his injury was that his pants, the gray ones that he'd been wearing when he'd been taken, were splattered rusty brown with dried blood. Oddly, his shirt was good as new.

The party continued, uninterrupted.

Neville and Hazel noticed Nico at once, however and set themselves on either side of him, letting him lean his weight on them. In silence, they led him around the edge of the knot of Gryffindors and up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. Moments, later, Bill followed them.

On a whim, I ensured that nobody was paying any attention to me (They weren't), and made my way up the stairs to the dormitories.

Nobody noticed me entering. The three were seated around Nico, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. In the moonlight, his face looked pasty white. I noticed again how tired he looked; his whole body seemed to sag in exhaustion and pain, and I saw that Hazel and Neville were actually holding him up to keep him from collapsing.

"You alright, Nico?" Hazel asked.

Nico snorted. "Hazel, I was tied between two poles and flogged within an inch of my life. Of course I'm not _alright_."

Hazel flinched. "Sorry, Nico," she said.

Neville sighed. "How long until you're up and running?"

Nico shrugged. "At least six weeks," he said, "could be more."

Neville nodded grimly ."And if I were to... speed things up a bit? I know some herbs that may help. And Bill, can't you help, being a son of Apollo and all?"

Son of Apollo? Wasn't Apollo a Greek god? No, it was probably just somebody named after him. Strange name.

Nico sighed. "You'd be going against the implicit orders of our beloved insane praetor, Jason Grace."

Bill frowned. "What's he done _now_?"

"What do you mean, _now_?" Nico asked.

Hazel sighed. "Something's wrong with Jason," she said. "He's gotten so strict, it's strange. He's irritable, he snaps at everybody, he's started putting the old laws into practice again, even some of the ones that he did away with himself. Something's not right."

Nico frowned. "My punishment wasn't the only thing, was it?" He asked.

Bill shook his head. "He's always talking to the lares," he said, "but just the ancient ones, the ghosts of the old legion. Mostly the ones that were demigods."

Demigods?

I was quite officially out of my depth, and wondered at one point if I ought to leave. I thought better of it, but kept to the shadows, feeling that this was a conversation that I wasn't meant to hear.

Bill continued. "I can't be sure of anything, but I heard him mention something once, about 'restoring the roman legion to it's old glory'."

Roman legion. So, Apollo wasn't Greek, he was Roman. What was with all the mythology references? These people seemed to take it so seriously...

Nico blinked. "_Shit_," he breathed, "That's bad."

Neville frowned. "That's not like him," he said. "Jason's been working for years to strip away the rites of the old legion that were too dangerous, or too deadly. Last I heard, he was on the verge of abolishing the death penalty for any crime short of treason."

Hazel frowned. "That's changed," she said. "He's so... _Roman_ now. I mean, not the usual strict disciplinarian Roman, the ancient Roman... He's going about this in a funny way. He even called Piper _weak_ last week. She hasn't spoken to him since."

Nico snorted. "Trouble in Paradise?" He asked.

Hazel glared at her brother. "Nico, don't joke about that. For all we know, Jason's love for Piper is all that's keeping him from becoming the next Nero."

The four shuddered. I dimly recalled from primary school that Nero had organized vicious gladiator combats.

Nico frowned. "What would somebody have to gain from our praetor going crazy?"

"Gain?" Asked Hazel. "What makes you think that this is foul play? I mean, Jason's been praetor for a long time, and he's seen a lot, considering his age. It could have just gotten to him, maybe it's just wearing down his nerves, and he's getting a little... loopy. Besides, he's a good leader, he's well loved. Who would want him mad?"

Neville shook his head. "It's too sudden," he said, sounding tired. "It's like he woke up one day and decided we needed the old legion back. I give it a few months before he decides to put a _decimatio_ sentence on the sixth cohort."

"Sixth cohort?" Hazel asked. "What sixth cohort? We only have five."

"What do you think all the demigods are doing here?" Neville asked. "They were all a cohort, ran away to England around the time of the second titan war. Most of them were children of Trivia, so they stayed at Hogwarts."

"So, technically, they're deserters," Bill said reasonably.

Neville nodded. "And according to the laws of the old legion, a cohort punished for mutiny or desertion would be killed through decimation."

"Every tenth man, killed," muttered Hazel. "Jason wouldn't..."

Nico blinked. "Do you really believe that?" He asked. "Do you believe he wouldn't?"

Hazel shook her head. "I mean, he's a little strange right now, but he wouldn't go so far as to have every tenth soldier killed by his own cohort, would he?"

Nico pulled away from his sister and scooted to the middle of the bed, on his knees with his back to them. "You tell me," he snarled.

He gripped the hem of his shirt, and I noticed two dark rings around his wrists.

I'd seen a few before: They were rope burns, red and raw, already turning into nasty purple-yellow bruises.

That was nothing compared to when Nico removed his shirt.

I gasped loudly, but I wasn't heard, because the others had done the same.

Nico's back was a bloody nightmare.

His pale skin was covered in bright red lacerations, all in diagonal diagonal strokes down the sides of his back. His spine was left untouched, and even I could tell that had it not been, Nico would have died.

The lacerations were slowly oozing blood.

Neville stared at them for a moment, before he sighed. "I don't care what Jason says, you need my help. Sleep like this tonight, I'll fix you up tomorrow. You'll be good as new in a week."

Nico let out a sigh. "Thanks, Nev," he muttered, then flopped down on his stomach. He let out a cry of pain as his back was jarred.

I quietly made my way back downstairs, silently swearing to myself that I would never tell anybody of what I had seen and heard.

The legion.

Jason Grace.

Demigods.

Could this be Nico's secret?

Apollo.

Gods... Greek Gods, Roman Gods.

Gods of Olympus.

That night, I fell into an uneasy sleep, filled with nightmares of lightning bolts and waves of undead soldiers.


	42. In Which Nico WakesFor a Brief Moment

**A/N: Yes, I'm still alive! YAAAAY!**

**I'm SO terribly sorry for extending my 'a few weeks' pause to 'A GREAT MANY MONTHS', but it really couldn't be helped. I was supremely stuck, and it was only with the help of the GREAT, the GLORIOUS, and the PHENOMENALLY POWERFUL AND GIFTED Fogira that I had this put up at all.**

**Spring break is on its way, so I can only hope that I'll be able to publish more often then.**

**I actually know what I'm doing for the next few chapters, so that should help.**

**Thank you so much, you've all been so helpful to me, and I love you all. It's so wonderful for a plain old nobody like me to be able to reach such a wonderful audience as you all.**

**All my love,**

**-Silex.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 40<p>

In Which Nico Wakes... For a Brief Moment

Nico's POV

When I woke up, I was even more grateful for yesterday's anesthesia, particularly because it had worn off. Pain like fire arced down my back with every breath I took, and blood loss made me feel faint. My head pounded as though Hannibal had used it as a trampoline.

I groaned and tried to get up, but as I moved my arms, I felt my skin split again and let myself collapse with a groan of pain.

"Easy, Nico," said Neville's voice near me. "You're still pretty ripped up, mate."

I groaned. "I know," I muttered. "How long was I out?"

"A while," Neville said. "We thought it'd be best to let you sleep."

I grunted. "So, you said you could heal me?"

"I went to professor Sprout this morning and got the necessary plants, and Hazel asked madame Pomfrey for a pain reliever. You'll be fixed up just in time to leave on tuesday."

"Leave?" I asked.

Somebody near me snorted. "Nico," said Hazel's voice, "You didn't break the laws of New Rome just to forget to commit the crime. You're bringing the Potter kid to Mount Olympus."

I groaned. "Right, I am, aren't I?"

"Last I checked," Hazel said, "You didn't have any lashes on your brain."

I shrugged, then promptly wished I hadn't. "I've been a bit busy almost dying."

"What do you think is wrong with Jason, then?" Neville asked. Bill was absentmindedly spreading a pungent gunk on my back which stung like holy Hades.

"I don't know," I said. "But it's bad. I don't think it's him, not really. There were some moments when he seemed like himself, but he changes too drastically."

"Posession?"

"Maybe," I said. "He's got all the signs, but the eidolons promised to leave us alone, didn't they?"

"They're not the only things able to possess people," Hazel pointed out. "You've got a point there, Neville. It could happen. We need to keep our options open. The _lares_ have been restless since Octavian's execution. They're _really_ not happy with Jason for that. One of them may have tried to take matters into their own hands."

"Lares can't possess people," I protested. "It's beyond their powers. They'd be completely consumed if they tried to possess a mere mortal, let alone an extremely powerful demigod. We'll see about that when I get Harry to Olympus."  
>"Do you actually have an idea of how you're going to get Harry up Mount Olympus? Because I doubt you'd easily be able to convince him," Neville cut in.<br>"I won't have to," I said. "If he's difficult about it, I'll just knock him out and drag him to Olumpus."

"You can't do anything without alerting Ron or Hermione, though."

"I'll make sure they understand the necessity."

"They won't. They're too loyal for it. They're afraid of you."

"So I need to talk to him alone, without the other two, and make sure he doesn't say a word to them either..."  
>"I could ask him to come to the infirmary alone," Neville offered.<br>"And Ron and Hermione would be instantly suspicious," I groaned.  
>"What about talking to him in the middle of the night?"<br>"He'll be startled and hex you, and Ron might hear."  
>"I could corner him after class?"<p>

"Without Ron or Hermione?"  
>"Send him a letter keyed to his eyes only? One with a charm to prevent him from revealing the contents to Ron or Hermione?"<p>

Neville snorted. "Are you really considering explaining all of this to him in a letter?"

"Of course not!" I said. "Don't be ridiculous. I'd arrange a meeting."

"That might work," he said, "If not for the fact that you can't move right now."

"Thanks for the reminder, Neville," I mumbled.

He chuckled. "Come on, lets get you fixed up. Sleep, Nico. It'll hurt a bit less."

Bill touched my forehead and whispered a few words of latin. The world faded to black.


	43. In Which Hazel Breaks Curses

**A/N:**

**WOOT! I'm back! And so soon and everything!**

**So, I'm in a very good mood, since spring break just ended, so I'm treating you guys early, and it's a long chapter (Mostly because some of this is copied straight from book 6. Oh well. **

**Thank you so much for the reviews and support, I can't believe you guys are staying with me after so long!**

**All my love,**

**-Silex.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 41<p>

In Which Hazel Breaks Curses

Nico remained unconscious for several days. By the time the Hogsmeade weekend rolled around, he still wasn't awake, so I left the castle with Ron and Hermione, despite the gathering storm.

The street was not very busy; no-body was lingering to chat, just hurrying toward their destinations. The exceptions were two men a little ahead of them, standing just outside the Three Broomsticks. One was very tall and thin; squinting through my rain-washed glasses I recognized the barman who worked in the other Hogsmeade pub, the Hog's Head. As we drew closer, the barman drew his cloak more tightly around his neck and walked away, leaving the shorter man to fumble with something in his arms. I was barely feet from him when I realized who the man was.

"Mundungus!"

The squat, bandy-legged man with long, straggly, ginger hair jumped and dropped an ancient suitcase, which burst open, releas-ing what looked like the entire contents of a junk shop window. "Oh, 'ello, 'Arry," said Mundungus Fletcher, with a most un-convincing stab at airiness. "Well, don't let me keep ya." He began scrabbling on the ground to retrieve the contents of his suitcase with every appearance of a man eager to be gone.

"Are you selling this stuff?" I asked, watching Mundungus grab an assortment of grubby-looking objects from the ground.

"Oh, well, gotta scrape a living," said Mundungus. "Gimme that!"

Ron had stooped down and picked up something silver.

"Hang on," Ron said slowly. "This looks familiar —"

I saw the crest on the goblet, and everything clicked into place.

"Thank you!" said Mundungus, snatching the goblet out of Ron's hand and stuffing it back into the case. "Well, I'll see you all _ OUCH!"

I let out a shout of rage and grabbed Mundungus by the throat, punning him against the wall of the pub with one hand, pulling out my wand with the other.

"Harry!" squealed Hermione.

"You rook that from Sinus's house," I snarled, trying not to gag at the unpleasant smell of old tobacco and spirits that hung on the man's breath. "That had the Black family crest on it."

"I — no — what — ?" spluttered Mundungus, who was slowly turning purple.

"What did you do, go back the night he died and strip the place?" I snarled.

"I — no — "

"Give it to me!"

"Harry, you mustn't!" shrieked Hermione, as Mundungus started to turn blue.

There was a bang, and I felt my hands fly off Mundungus's throat. Gasping and spluttering, Mundungus seized his fallen case, then — CRACK— he Disapparated.

I swore loudly, spinning on the spot to see where Mundungus had gone.

"COME BACK, YOU THIEVING — !"

"There's no point, Harry." Tonks had appeared out of nowhere, her mousy hair wet with sleet.

"Mundungus will probably be in London by now. There's no point yelling."

"He's nicked Sirius's stuff! Nicked it!"

"Yes, but still," said Tonks, who seemed perfectly untroubled by this piece of information. "You should get out of the cold."

She watched us go through the door of the Three Broom-sticks. The moment he was inside, I couldn't contain my anger any longer burst out, "He was nicking Sirius's stuff!"

"I know, Harry, but please don't shout, people are staring," whispered Hermione. "Go and sit down, I'll get you a drink."

I was still fuming when Hermione returned to the table a few minutes later holding three bottles of butterbeer.

"Can't the Order control Mundungus?" I demanded of the other two in a furious whisper. "Can't they at least stop him stealing everything that's not fixed down when he's at headquarters?"

"Shh!" said Hermione desperately, looking around to make sure nobody was listening; there were a couple of warlocks sitting close by who were staring at Harry with great interest, and Zabini was lolling against a pillar not far away. "Harry, I'd be annoyed too, I know it's your things he's stealing —"

I gagged on my butterbeer; I had momentarily forgotten that I owned number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

"Yeah, it's my stuff!" I said. "No wonder he wasn't pleased to see me! Well, I'm going to tell Dumbledore what's going on, he's the only one who scares Mundungus."

"Good idea," whispered Hermione, clearly pleased that I was calming down. "Ron, what are you staring at?"

"Nothing," said Ron, hastily looking away from the bar, but I knew he was trying to catch the eye of the curvy and attractive bar-maid, Madam Rosmerta, for whom he had long nursed a soft spot.

"I expect 'nothing's' in the back getting more firewhisky," said Hermione waspishly.

Ron ignored this jibe, sipping his drink in what he evidently considered to be a dignified silence. Hermione drummed her fingers on the table, her eyes flickering between Ron and the bar. The moment I drained the last drops in my bottle she said, "Shall we call it a day and go back to school, then?"

The other two nodded; it had not been a fun trip and the weather was getting worse the longer we stayed. Once again we drew our cloaks tightly around us, rearranged our scarves, pulled on our gloves, then followed Katie Bell and a friend out of the pub and back up the High Street.

It was a little while before I became aware that the voices of Katie Bell and her friend, which were being carried back to me on the wind, had become shriller and louder. I squinted at their indistinct figures. The two girls were having an argument about something Katie was holding in her hand.

"It's nothing to do with you, Leanne!" Katie said.

They rounded a corner in the lane, sleet coming thick and fast, blurring my glasses. Just as I raised a gloved hand to wipe them, Leanne made to grab hold of the package Katie was holding; Katie tugged it back and the package fell to the ground.

At once, Katie rose into the air gracefully, her arms outstretched, as though she was about to fly. Yet there was something wrong, something eerie. . . . Her hair was whipped around her by the fierce wind, but her eyes were closed and her face was quite empty of expression. All of us stopped in our tracks, watching.

Then, six feet above the ground, Katie let out a terrible scream. Her eyes flew open but whatever she could see, or whatever she was feeling, was clearly causing her terrible anguish. She screamed and screamed; Leanne started to scream too and seized Katie's ankles, trying to tug her back to the ground. The three of us forward to help, but even as we grabbed Katie's legs, she fell on top of us; Ron and I managed to catch her but she was writhing so much we could hardly hold her. Instead we lowered her to the ground where she thrashed and screamed, apparently unable to recognize any of us.

Suddenly, a shrill voice screamed over the howling wind: "DON'T TOUCH HER!"

One of the newcomers, the dark-skinned girl named Hazel, was running towards us, desperation lining her face.

"Don't touch her!" she repeated when she was closer, pulling Leanne away from her friend. "You'll die!"

"What's wrong with her?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I just..." She shivered. "Something's not right. What happened?"

Katie's screaming had run its course, and all that remained of it was air running through her throat, which was far too hoarse to let out a sound.

"We were... fighting about the package," Leanne said shakily.

Hazel bent down to pick it up.

"No!" Leanne said. "That's probably what cursed her!"

"Don't worry," Hazel said. "I'll be careful."

She picked up the wrapped package and opened it carefully, and took one look at the contents before letting out a scream and dropping it.

A necklace of opal and silver glinted up at us from the snow.

Hermione moved forward to get a closer look, but Hazel pushed her back. "Don't touch it," she said, trembling. "You'll die if you touch it."

"How do you know?"

"I can't tell you," she said, almost too quietly for me to hear over the wind, which had settled from a howl to a mere gust.

"Can you heal her?"

Hazel shivered. "I don't know," she said. "I never could before. There isn't... there's no cure."

"HAZEL!" shouted Neville's voice. I turned and saw him atop the hill, accompanied by Bill. "WHERE HAVE YOU-" he stopped short when he saw Katie. "What happened?" He saw the necklace.

"Is that..." Bill began hesitantly, "Yours?"

Looking on the verge of tears, Hazel nodded. "They are," she said, "but I didn't know. It wasn't my fault, I didn't do it. You believe me, right? I didn't do this!" She looked up at them in desperation, golden eyes swimming with tears that were now streaking down her cheeks.

Neville nodded. "I know," he said. "You're innocent. Just... Please. Find a way to help her. There has to be a way."

Hazel shook her head. "If I could, don't you think I would?" She asked. "There are so many people I could have saved."

"She has magic. Maybe that can help. Will you try?"

"Pray," Bill interrupted, running his hair through his brown hair. "Maybe he'll help you."

She looked at Bill helplessly. "I've tried," she said. "I've tried everything."

"Try again," he said. "I'll be there with you. I'll see if I can do anything."

Hazel looked unconvinced but knelt beside Katie's still form in apparent prayer.

Hermione attempted to comfort a sobbing Leanne.

Neville muttered a summoning charm and waited for nearly an entire minute before a dull brown bag zoomed towards him. Bill caught it out of the air, pulling out a series of vials and what looked rather suspiciously like amulets, mumbling under his breath. He pulled out a crystal vial full of a thick, lumpy green substance and pulled Katie up, gently pouring some of it into her mouth.

Hazel's lips moved fervently, tears still tracing down her burnished bronze cheeks.

I turned to Neville, knowing perfectly well this wasn't a time to ask questions. "Should I go get somebody?"

Neville shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "This hasn't happened before. Maybe you should try to get help, for all they can do."

An ear-piercing scream cut off my answer and the two of us whirled to face Katie, whose face was contorted in a grimace of agony. Her back was arched to the point that only her heels and head touched the snowy ground.

Bill was the only one who didn't jump back several paces. He merely blinked, unfazed, and gazed down at Katie, then turned to Leanne. "Your friend will be all right," he said. "She didn't touch the necklace long enough to be truly cursed by it. It only had a mild effect on her."

"Mild?" I choked.

He didn't seem to hear. "I'll help you get her back to the school, and to the hospital wing. Now, she has nothing your resident healer can't handle. I've taken the worst edge off the curse."

He bent down and laid a hand on Hazel's shoulder. I'd seen the two fighting like cats and dogs twice in the past two days, but here, none of their former enmity showed. They seemed to have reached an apparent truce. "It's all right," he said. "She'll be fine. She's not going to die."

Hazel nodded shakily and stood. "Thanks," she croaked. "I think... I think I need to go for a ride."

Bill nodded. "Take Arion out for a while," he said. "Neville and I will take care of things until you come back. Don't get yourself hurt."

Hazel nodded at him gratefully and broke into a run towards the forest.

Bill turned to Ron and I. "Help me get her back to the castle," he said.

Ron didn't seem to mind being ordered around by a complete stranger in the slightest. Completely dazed, we picked up a now limp Katie bell and began the long trudge towards the castle.


	44. In Which I Am a Forgetful Moron

**A/N: **

**Sorry, not a second chapter! (Greedy buggers, aren't you?) Just realized, whilst rereading this, that I forgot a chapter along the way! If you could do be the world's HUGEST favor and go back to chapter 36, you'll see one chapter I'd forgotten to insert. It's really important, and it explains why I got a lot of questions about my sudden idea of pairing Nico and Reyna. Sorry about that, all!**

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

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**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

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**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

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**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

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**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

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**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

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**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

****GO BACK TO CHAPTER 36 AND READ THE NEW CHAPTER****

**There. That ought to make you all read it.**

**Love,**

**-Silex.**


	45. In Which Harry is Fortunately Not Afraid

**A/N: HELLO!**

**It's summer here in the bright sunshine-y state of Florida, which isn't so sunshine-y, because it's the gods-damn rainy season again!**

**This is a short chapter, because I wanted to get something up fast for all you people, since you've been so good!**

**I have an internship this summer, working in a virology lab, so my updates will still be few and far between, but thanks so much for still reviewing and caring about little old me! Anyway, I did all my AP and AICE exams, and I'm SOOOO done... I took my ELEVENTH SAT, too, and that's just _it_.**

**So, as it's summer, let me be the first to say:**

**No more homework! No more tests! No more Teachers, dirty pests!**

**Love,**

**-Silex.**

* * *

><p>Chapter42<p>

In Which Harry is Fortunately Not Afraid of Heights

Nico's POV

I was very surprised at how easily Harry agreed to come with me. A quick discussion and a promise of answers once we were at our destination, and he allowed me to take his hand and shadow-travel away.

We came out in the shadow of the Empire State building, and I waited a moment for him to slow down and restabilize himself before I started to drag him to the doors.

I marched straight to the security guard, made sure that nobody was near, and said: "No time for games. I need to get to Olympus _now_."

"You demigods are always in such a hurry," The man grumbled. "No hello, no how are you, just 'I need to get to Olympus'." He sighed and handed me the key-card. "Make sure nobody's in the elevator. Have a good day."

I rolled my eyes and made my way to the elevator, passed the key-card through, and pressed on the button that said 600.

Harry stared out the window in awe. "Where is this, DiAngelo?" He asekd, suddenly on edge. Clearly, he had expected me to keep him a bit more local.

"New York," I said. "I'm taking you to my uncles. Don't worry, you have my oath that I won't knowingly have you harmed."

"Knowingly?"

"My uncles are... unstable at best, and they really don't like me. Or my father. I won't be held responsible for their actions. Hey, I forgot to ask, are you afraid of heights by any chance? Because if you are, don't look down."

Harry blinked. "DiAngelo, I play quidditch. Of course I'm not afraid of heights."

I shrugged. "Just asking."

"Why are you bringing me here?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes at him. "The weapon that can destroy Volde-" I let out a muted snarl as my mark burned at the mention of his name. "_Tom_. You can't have it without their permission."

Harry frowned. "All right," he said finally. I was shocked. All this time, he'd been distrustful and downright hostile, and now, all he had to say to this was _all right_?

That was when the bell rang and the elevator opened. Harry and I stepped out, and he nearly jumped back into the elevator at what he saw.

"Merlin," he breathed.

I grinned. "No, Merlin's the same distance downwards, actually. Maybe you'll get to meet him. Harry, welcome to Mount Olympus."


	46. In Which Harry is Forewarned

**A/N:**

**So, I'm back! WOOOT! Thanks so much for your reviews, you keep me going.**

**I do ACTUALLY have a legitimate excuse for why my chapters have been so few and far between (although they're showing up faster than before). I have an internship in a virology lab at Port St. Lucie, in FL, and I'm working a 30-hour week, with extra studying for Calculus BC and AP Physics next year. Hanging in there...**

**Also, in EXCELLENT news, I finally finished writing my first novel, and am absolutely thrilled. I'll probably have it published by the beginning of next school year: Title is 'Olympus is Rising' by Adara Olson and Ryker Azrael (my co-author). I'll keep you posted! Review and tell me if you'd like a sneak-peek of the beginning! It's nothing like this, more modern warfare-ish, but I think it works anyway.**

**Love,**

**-Adara (changed my pen name. Ha.**

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><p>Chapter 43<p>

In Which Harry is Forewarned

Nico's POV

I didn't know where we were, but it was beautiful.

The decapitated top of a mountain lay above what I recognized from postcards as New York, and it was full of a hundred thousand wonders, all in Ancient Greek.

I stared at Nico in awe. "Mount Olympus?" I asked.

He nodded somberly, and I wondered what the bad news was. He led me silently to a park where nine (absolutely stunning, probably half-veela) women were tuning their instruments on a stage. They took no notice of us as we sat on a bench in a secluded area.

"What I'm about to tell you," he said, "is the most well-kept secret in history. My family has remained hidden from common mortals for centuries, and I have already been severely punished by my _people_," he sneered the word as though it burned his tongue, "for even considering telling you, but it's the only way to complete my quest."

I blinked. "What is it, then?" I asked.

He sighed. "What do you know about Mount Olympus?" he asked.

"It's a mountain in Greece," I said. "They used to think that their gods lived on it, right?"

He nodded. "They were right," he said. "Mount Olympus moves with the spirit of the West, which is currently in America. The Greek gods are real as you and I."

"All right," I said, having suspected it for a while. Besides, if witches and wizards were real, why not gods? "What's that got to do with you?"

Nico sighed again. "In the myths, gods had a tendency to fall for mortals. Their union resulted in a race of demigods. Heroes without parallel, hunted by monsters. I'm one of them."

I stopped. Blinked. Stared. "You?"

He nodded. "Yeah," He said. "I'm a son of Hades. That's why I'm a necromancer."

"But you said your father was Voldemort!" I said.

He shook his head. "I wasn't supposed to let you trust me," he said. "I was supposed to keep you away at all costs, because you have that mental link to him. Tom Riddle is my half-brother, another son of Hades. He cheated death, caused a terrible backlog of paperwork in the Underworld, and it's my job to get every part of his soul down there as soon as possible."

"Why, exactly, is this such bad news?"

He sighed. "Monsters hunt us down. As a son of Hades, I can command some of them, but my scent is stronger than others'. With me, you're a walking monster magnet. Tom knows about the gods as well, he knows who I am. The only reason I told you about this is because the weapon that can destroy his soul – remember what I told you?"

"A scythe," I said, "That can destroy a soul, right?"

He nodded. "That scythe belonged to the Titan Lord. He rose up against the gods years ago, and was beaten down by a great hero. His name was Luke Castellan. He was the host for the Titan Lord, and possessed the scythe. When he died, the scythe was still a part of him. He is the only one that can still summon it."

I nodded. "Okay," I said. "So we're going to talk to a dead hero. All right."

He nodded. "And, Harry – I know this is a hard thing to ask. You will see wonderful things today. You will be awed, you will be afraid, and you will come out alive. You will see the dead walk and the gods will speak to you. But, please... Tom cannot know. I can't force you to do this, and I won't try to, but _please_. When this is over, let me wipe your memory of it. A simple spell, you'll never know."

I blinked. "I don't..."

He shook his head. "You don't need to tell me right away," he said. "Just think about it, all right?"

I nodded. "Sure, Nico." I wondered when he'd stopped being DiAngelo.

"Come on, then," Nico said, rising and returning to the path. "The gods are waiting."


	47. In Which Zeus is Surprisingly Compliant

**A/N: I know, I know. So very late, and so very short. College apps have been driving me crazy, but there's a slowdown here. I'm at a slow point in the prompt, and I need to find a way to get out of the underworld and back to Hogwarts in a couple of chapters. I think next chapter will be Harry meeting his parents and Luke, then Nico discovering a certain disturbance amongst the punished souls... (not telling), then going back to the surface to kick ass. Any advice or idea would be really appreciated! **

**Love y'all,**

**-Adara.**

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><p>Chapter 44<p>

In Which Zeus is Surprisingly Compliant

Nico's POV

"Lord and uncle," I said, kneeling beside Harry before Zeus, lord of Olympus, "I salute you."

"What do you want, hero?" Zeus drawled. "You heroes never come here unless you need something from us."

I sighed and stood. "Lord, has my father made you aware of the doings of one Tom Marvolo Riddle?" I asked.

Zeus nodded. "Hades never stops complaining about him, gives me a headache at every meeting. What about him?"

"We believe that there is a weapon that can destroy him utterly with a single blow. Your father's blade."

Zeus raised an eyebrow. "The scythe is dust," he said, "crushed with my father."

I shook my head. "No, Lord," I said. "It is a powerful magical object, and made an imprint on its owner's soul. The scythe resides in the hands of the soul of Luke Castellan."

Zeus frowned. "You say you can retrieve it?" he asked.

"Yes, my lord," I promised.

"I will not have such a weapon in my brother's hands," Zeus declared after a moment of thought. "I will not give him such an opportunity to dethrone me."

I managed to stop myself from glaring. "Lord Zeus, I will not wield the scythe, nor will my father. The only one who will ever use it in battle is Harry Potter, prophecized to defeat Riddle."

"He is mortal," Zeus responded.

"So is Luke Castellan."

"And see where that got him."

"My lord, this is the only option. I give you my oath on the river Styx that your trust will not me misplaced."

"By all means, little hero, go down to Elysium and collect the scythe. I look forward to seeing you fail."

I bit back a groan and grabbed Harry by the arm, marching him away from the lord of the skies before I found a way to blow him to pieces. "Come on," I muttered. "Time to die."

It was only on my way down the elevator that led straight to the underworld that I looked over at Harry with a frown. "Hey," I said, "How would you like to visit your parents?"


End file.
